By Dr. Laura Whipple DC
Los Alamos

Forest Bathing was defined by the Japanese Ministry of Agriculture in 1982 to encourage people to spend more time in nature.

This practice encourages us to spend more time outside so we can absorb the beauty, smells and sounds of our natural environment. This healing technique is unique because it passively restores physiological and psychological health through our five senses when we are immersed in nature instead of relying on medication.

Our system is recharged by experiencing the forest and by eliminating the noise, stress and technology around us.

It is estimated that the average person spends up to 95 percent of their time indoors and that by 2050, 66 percent of us will live in urban environments.

A 2019 research review article in “Environmental Health and Preventative Medicine” discussed the term ‘subhealth’ which was defined as fatigue, poor sleep quality, forgetfulness and physical pain. The authors concluded that at least 26 research papers on forest bathing demonstrated significant mental and physical health benefits to participants, moving them from subhealth to health, with only a few hours per week of forest time.

Forest bathing has been found to lower blood pressure, stress hormones and heart rate. Your immune system also strengthens with an increase in white blood cells via phytoncides or essential oils inhaled through the respiratory system.

From a neuroscience perspective, being out in nature boosts cognitive function while also decreasing depression and anxiety. Dopamine, our primary reward neurotransmitter in the brain, gets a healthy boost without relying on social media to give the brain it’s bump for the day. Finally, we have much to gain from developing a love of being in the trees and the health benefits they give.

Perhaps we will learn to be better stewards of the planet if we show ourselves and our children why it is so important to preserve our green spaces.