Forest Bathing* is fancier way of saying that hanging out in the forest, among the trees, can improve your immune system and make you feel super-duper relaxed!

Title sounds pretty good, right? But let’s see how it exactly works!

Forest Bathing Therapy

*Forest bathing therapy, or Japanese tradition of “Forest Bathing” Shinrin-Yoku, which originated in the 1980s as a response of Japanese Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry, and Fisheries to a serious nationwide health crisis People overstressed from working long hours in offices, in technology and other industrial sectors, greatly in need to reconnect with nature and themselves

🌲 Step Into the Forest, Step Into Wellness 🌲 #WellnessToday #ForestBathing #NatureHeals #tree

Decades of research in Japan showed that forest bathing is reducing stress, improving attention, immunity, and lifting mood:

It drops the levels of cortisol, a hormone released when we’re stressed, if elevated for a prolonged time, leads to high blood pressure, heart disease, headaches, and other serious ailments.

It boosts immune system.

Japanese study showed that people who spent three days and two nights in a forest had increased number and activity of immune cells called natural killer cells, which fight viruses and cancer. This effect lasted for more than a month after the forest trip!

It recovers your attention span!

If feeling overwhelmed by information overload, forest bathing is helping you focus and clear your mind. It’s enhancing the cognitive abilities by stimulating senses and reducing mental fatigue. Studies showed that people who walked in a forest performed better on a memory test than those who walked in an urban area. Another study showed that children with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) had fewer symptoms after spending time in nature.

It lifts the mood!

Makes people feel happier and more optimistic by increasing the levels of serotonin, dopamine and endorphins, neurotransmitters that regulate emotions and reward system Serotonin makes you feel calm; dopamine helps you feel motivated and excited; endorphins help you feel euphoric and pain-free.

Forest bathing is also reducing the levels of anxiety and depression by lowering the activity in the prefrontal cortex, which is involved in rumination and negative thoughts.