Feeling stressed? Want to disconnect but don’t know how? Turns out, the cure might be a walk in the woods. Not only does the term “forest bathing” make us feel like a carefree kid in the woods, but it’s actually an ancient practice that really works.
Nature therapy is real. Just like with natural light, it’s how humans were meant to interact with the world. Below, we explore forest bathing tips and the many different ways it can boost your mood and health.
Forest bathing, aka shinrin-yoku, is a practice that was developed in Japan during the 1980s. Essentially, it’s using all of your senses to take in the forest atmosphere.
It sounds pretty simple, right? Go spend some time in a forest.
However, there’s a little more to it. “If you want to get all the benefits of forest bathing, your primary focus should be connecting with nature,” says Gary Evans, director of the Forest Bathing Institute in the U.K., in an episode of NPR’s Life Kit podcast.
This means putting away your devices, and really allowing yourself to connect with nature. The point is to slow down and engage all your senses with the forest.
What are the benefits of forest bathing?
Spending time in the forest has been found to help lower cortisol levels, blood pressure, and anxiety.
“What we could see in the data was that, as soon as somebody came into proximity of a tree and they were just present and mindful, paying attention and appreciating the tree, their, basically their parasympathetic activity (which is the relaxation response in the body) increased,” Evans says.
Research by Dr. Qing Li, author of Forest Bathing: How Trees Can Help You Find Health and Happiness, has shown that the health benefits of one session of forest bathing can last for up to 30 days.
His research also found that many of the benefits come from breathing in phytoncides, which are chemicals that trees release into the air.
How long and how often should you forest bathe?
Plan on setting aside a fair amount of time. Dr. Li says the ideal amount of time would be two to six hours. If that’s not possible for you, you can still get the same benefits doing shorter sessions more often. This study found that spending at least 120 minutes in nature was associated with better well-being.
Here are three ways to get some of the benefits at home:
1. Incorporate a forest environment with indoor trees, moss terrariums, and other plants. Exposure to nature in your home has been associated with reducing stress and negative emotions. Even looking at images and videos of nature has been shown to help lower stress.
2. Our olfactory senses play a big role in our reaction to stress, and modern city living keeps us far from the cleansing, antimicrobial, relaxing, and herbaceous scents of plants and nature. That’s why aromatherapy with botanical essential oils is so effective.
Dr. Qi found that diffusing tree-based essential oils at home can help you get some of the benefits.
3. Playing a forest soundscape is an easy way to bring forest vibes to your home. You can find nature soundtracks online (like this one that has 10 hours of forest sounds) and on apps like InsightTimer.
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