Forest bathing is a simple practice of spending time in a forest connecting with nature through all human senses. It is not hiking or exercise or meditation. Simply put it is like having a play date with nature.
The heath benefits of forest bathing have been studied and measured. Just one forest bath can reduce the stress hormones and increase activity of cells in our bodies that help our bodies fight diseases like cancer. Forest bathing also reduces high blood pressure, increases hormones that relate to the pursuit of joy and increase creativity. Overall forest bathing has benefits to physical and mental health.
What is it about the forest that chemically changes us, the smell, the noises the fresh air? Let’s take a deeper look at the physical and mental health benefits of forest bathing.
Physical Health Benefits of Forest Bathing
Increased Activity of Cancer Fighting Cells Due To Forest Bathing
Scientists have been studying forest bathing since the 1980s and found that the human body responds to airborne essential oils called phytoncides that are released by trees and plants.
When humans breathe in phytoncides it triggers a special white blood cell called a Natural Killer cell (NK cell). This Natural Killer cell will find and destroy cancer cells in the body. Natural Killer cells also clear viral infections. NK play a critical role in controlling the growth of a tumor and matastasis as well as stimulate the immune system to remove certain viruses.
Anti cancer proteins are perforin, granzymes, granulysin which are created in the body with activated Natural Killer cells.
A popular study was performed on a group of people to determine the effect of forest bathing by Qing Li from Nippon Medical School in Japan. Qing Li is an expert in forest medicine and author of “Forest Bathing: How Trees Can Help You Find Health and Happiness“. In his study, he examined the physical effects of forest bathing over a 3 day experiment. All of the test subjects stayed in a hotel for two nights. Each day, all subjects participated in a 2.5 hour long outing of minimal physical exertion – an easy stroll in a forest.
Samples of bodily fluids (blood and urine) were taken at the beginning of the experiment, after the forest bathing on days two and three, and then after the experiment a week later and a month later.
The results showed that the activity of Natural Killer cells in all of the subjects significantly increased on the second day and even further on the third day compared to the first. As well, the levels of cortisol (a stress hormone) had decreased.
This sparked more questions and more studies. In the next study, along with a forest bathing group, a control group simultaneously did this experiment at a similar hotel but instead of forest bathing, they took a leisurely stroll through a beautiful city.
The results of this second experiment still showed the group that spent time in a forest had increased Natural Killer cell activity and decreased levels of stress hormone. But the control group who strolled through a city saw negligible changes in either Natural Killer cell activity or stress hormones.
The interesting thing about this study is that the levels of forest bathing group’s Natural Killer cell activity remained significantly increased after seven days. Even after thirty days, the levels were slightly higher than their starting points.
Forest Bathing Lowers High Blood Pressure and Improves Heart Rate
Li also monitored the blood pressure and heart rate for each participant over the course of the experiment. As you might guess, both of these measurements improved with an increase of time in a forest.
Qing Li says the physical benefits of forest bathing are not just from the chemistry. Stepping away from technology and our stresses can also contribute to mood shifts. But there is a definite chemical basis for the calming feeling of forest bathing.
Forest Bathing Can Help Fight Viruses Like COVID-19
The increase of Natural Killer cell activity is an important defense for viral infections. As we know COVID-19 is a virus (SARS-CoV-2) and 80% of the confirmed indivuduals that have contracted this virus only experience mild symptoms because their immune systems are able to do their job.
Many of the vaccine research projects are attempting to treat COVID-19 with immunotherapy – specifically NK cell activity. Knowing that forest bathing can increase the body’s levels of active Natural Killer cells makes it a great option for staying safe in this global pandemic. If you are not allowed to go to a forest, you can also get the benefit of increased NK cell activity through houseplants (more on this later).
Mental Health Benefits of Forest Bathing
Forest Bathing Can Imporve Creativity and Focus
You may have heard of the “3 Day Effect”. The concept is that after spending three days in nature the brain can be restored and will perform better. A cognitive psychologist at the University of Utah, David Strayer, tested a group of participants to measure the effect of nature on their cognitive abilities.
Strayer found that the participants did 50 percent better on word games and problem solving tasks after spending three days in nature. He initially attributed this increase in brain power to removing one self from technology and giving your brain a break. But when they tested a group of people taking a 3 day holiday on a city tour, the results were not the same. There was something in nature that physically changed the participants.
Attention Restoration Theory (ART) states that nature has a way of restoring the prefrontal cortex which is responsible for the executive attentional system of the body. By using Remote Associates Test (RAT), creative thinking and insight problem solving can be measured.
Forest bathing promotes the parasympathetic nervous system which can improve rests, improve intestinal and gland activity and decrease blood pressure.
Decreased Number of Stress Hormones Due to Forest Bathing
An increased amount of stress hormones will temporarily shut down some systems in the body like those that keep hair and skin healthy. This is because when the body is in a stressful situation it prepares itself for fight or flight. Hair and skin are not vital to survival in that moment.
But as the levels of stress hormones is constantly increased due to constant stimulation digitally, people are frequently in the state of fight or flight. A forest bathing experience can restore the body to a relaxed and fully functioning state.
As mentioned above levels of cortisol decreased with an increase of exposure to the forest. The other stress hormones that were measured were adrenaline and noradrenaline. Both of these had also decreased.
Forest Bathing Promotes Communication and Connection with the Forest
Plants can communicate with other plants AND animals.
Plants can send messages using chemical substances which can be received and “understood” by another plant. Amazingly, a tree can send out a signal to other trees in the area that there is a pest. When the other trees receive this message, they can activate their immune system by doing something like change the taste of their leaves or create an antibody for the particular situation. This happens before the recipient tree even came into contact with the pest.
Interestingly, even natural predators to the pest will receive the message that was sent by the initial tree and they can arrive at the correct location to attack the pest.
According to Professor Wilhelm Boland of the University of Karlsruhe and the Max Planck Institute for Chemical Ecology, plants are able to communicate when they have been hurt and who hurt them. Scientists are working on decoding this plant language and have already pinpointed over 2000 chemicals and their meaning.
Terpenes are a group of substances that trees are using to communicate. They also use them to protect themselves from strong sunshine almost like a sunscreen.
Terpenes are aromatic oils that can have strong effects on the human body. Somes types of terpenes of cannabis plants have been used as a replacement for antidepressants like Prozac because they affect receptors and neurotransmitters in the brain. Other types of terpenes help with anxiety, are used as an anti inflammatory or an antifungal.
Just as we know our immune system communicates with other systems in the body, it can also communicate with other entities like terpenes emitted from plants. The human immune system just somehow understands and responds to the messages that trees are giving off.
Why Should I Try Forest Bathing?
In today’s society, people spend about 90% of their days inside. Addiction to screens is higher than ever before. Approximately 45% of the world is on social media every day for an average of 2 hours and 23 minutes. The average American adult spends 11 hours per day on a screen.
Although this might seem productive, our brains need a break. Just like any muscle, if your brain doesn’t get the proper amount of rest, it won’t function as well and you will have trouble concentrating.
Higher order cognitive functions are being overused with this lifestyle. These are the functions that help with multi-tasking, problem solving, inhibition and selective attention.
Along with a fatigued prefrontal cortex, the global stress levels have been on the rise for decades. Stress is a contributor to other manifestations like headaches, high blood pressure, heart problems, diabetes, skin conditions and arthritis. Forest bathing can play a role in decreasing stress levels physically.
If you are feeling stressed it might be difficult to make time to go forest bathing but it has proven to actually save you time as you will be more productive in the long run. A refreshed brain and healthy immune system will result in more productivity and engagement when back at your regular tasks.
How to Forest Bathe
Forest bathing is the practice of walking very slowly through a forest. It isn’t about getting a workout, nor is it a meditation. It is simply taking the time to listen, smell, see, feel and hear. It is very leisurely and very relaxed.
A forest bathing session usually lasts about two and a half hours. In this time the distance walked might only be 2 km. You aren’t going anywhere in particular, just walk where your body wants.
Typical Steps to Forest Bathing
- Enter a forest or an area with trees
- Do not bring your cell phone, camera, music or any distractions
- Let go of any expectations
- Do not think about the time
- You can rotate between sitting down and wandering around
- Pay attention to the present moment
- Try closing your eyes to heighten your other senses, notice what you can hear and smell
- When your eyes are open,play around with focusing and not focusing on everything around you
- Touch the bark of a tree, hug the tree, or feel the ground
- Notice any feelings in your body
- Feel free to wander aimlessly, there is not a destination, just listen to your body and go where you want
One of the great things about forest bathing is that it is very accessible to all people regardless of physical abilities or outdoor experience. If you have access to a group of trees you can forest bathe.
You don’t go into forest bathing with any agenda. You can just look for things that you notice. Sit with a tree and get to know a tree. Many people gravitate to water – streams, creeks and waterfalls.
Some people prefer to hire a guide to get more out of a forest bathing experience. Others feel they do not need a guide because there really isn’t anything to do.
Quite often if you go on a forest bathing trip with a guide, you will enjoy a cup of forest tea.
Benefits of Having a Guided Forest Bathing Experience
There are plenty of guided forest bathing experiences in many places around the world. Some people prefer to go with a guide because they do not have experience in the outdoors and lack the comfort level to go forest bathing alone.
In the forests around my house, there are often bear sightings and occasionally cougars. Not to mention the poison ivy or other dangerous plants. Going into the forest when you are not used to it can be scary. So having a guide can take away a level of anxiety from the actual act of forest bathing. Guides will know the safest places to wander and can give you instructions for just in case situations.
Guides will remind you to walk slower than usual and will talk you through parts of the experience to have you paying attention to what is around you.
Guides can invite you into snesory connection activities that are unlike anything you’e experienced before. They may play music on a wooden flute or ask you questions to get you noticing all of your senses.
To find a guide, you can do a search on Airbnb experiences or look up any forest therapy associations in your area.The Association of Nature & Forest Therapy has trained hundreds of forest therapy guides all around the world.
Their website will show you in which of the 55 countries they have trained therapists. They have also come up with a way to certify a trail for forest bathing. They include signage on the trails to bring awareness to the public about this form of therapy. These certified trails will be suitable for all levels of fitness and allow man methods of interacting with the forest.
A forest bathing guide is likely to make a forest tea to share with the forest bathing group. The tea will be made from a collection of items from the forest you are bathing in.
Bringing the Forest Indoors
Surprisingly, you don’t need to be in a forest to get some of the benefits of forest bathing. Indoor plants also provide some amazing physical and mental health benefits.
Similar to trees, other plants also emit phytoncides as part of their daily metabolic process. These volatile organic compounds (VOCs) are the plant’s defense system against pests, diseases and viruses.
Different indoor plants release different amounts of phytoncides. The bigger the plant, the more of these VOCs that get released. Plants taller than 30 cm with broad leaves and/or pointed tips have been found to be most effective in supporting the immune system.
A few plants that release a high level of phytoncides are:
- boston fern
- monstera
- weeping fig
- ficus
- rosemary
- snake plant
- money tree
So make sure to take good care of your plant family and they will also take care of you.
History of Forest Bathing
The use of nature as a form of therapy dates back to Persia 2500 years ago. A garden planted in the middle of a city was found to create a feeling of calm. Similar acts have been performed since but the real movement started much later on.
In the 1980s, the economy in japan was going through a tech boom. People were spending more time inside sitting at their desks than ever before. They noticed people started getting more cancer, depression, autoimmune diseases and distraction.
In Japan, 80 percent of the population lives in an urban setting and are not exposed to much nature. But since ancient times, Japanese people connected with nature through religion, history and culture.
So they started doing research into the effects of nature on health and they implemented a nation-wide movement to inspire residents to reconnect with nature.
The people who started forest bathing felt better and had more meaningful connections with each other and nature.
This national pastime was called Shinrin-yoku. Shinrin is Japanese for forest and Yoku is bathing.
This movement caught on and is spreading around the world. Nature therapy is used to maintain health and to treat cases of chronic illnesses. More and more medical prescriptions are moving away from pharmaceuticals and into nature. In Finland, they have found if people get a minimum of five hours of nature in a month, the levels of depression, alcoholism and suicide have decreased.
Forests Around The World Have Different Benefits
All healthy forests can communicate in order to benefit the entire community. Fungi is especially important to the communication within a forest and acts like the internet as it passes along messages from tree to tree to plant.
But not all forests are the same. Depending on the trees located in a forest, the types of terpenes emitted vary greatly. These essential oils can have very different effects on people.
Here is a list of some of the known forests that are popular for forest therapy because of the terpenes in the air. A-Pinene is by far the most abundant terpene in nature and Limonene is the second.
| a-Pinene | Finland Mexico South Korea Japan | Improved physiological and psychological relaxation |
| Myrcene | South Korea | Sedative effects |
| Camphene | Finland | Reduces bad cholesterols and triglycerides in the blood |
| Cineol (eucalyptol) | Finland | Improves memory, enhances learning capacity, clears airways and clears congestion |
| Linalool | Mexico | Pain reducer, anti inflammatory, reduces tension and increases relaxation |
| Limonene | Colorado Italy Germany | Reduce stress and anxiety Possibly a key player in cancer fighting Increased mental clarity |
South Korea (Bijarim Forest)
Finland (Boreal Forest)
Colorado (Rocky Mountains)
Italy (Monti Cimini)
Germany (Black Forest)
Japan (Yakusugi Forest)
As you can see, a forest can have multiple different benefits to a person. The amount of terpenes emitted by a tree also depends on the time of year. In the middle of summer in a deciduous forest will emit more terpenes as part of their defense against the bright sun.
Summary of the Health Benefits of Forest Bathing
The act of simply spending time in a forest on a regular basis can be beneficially both physically and mentally.
Many scientific studies have proven that the volatile organic compounds and essential oils that are emitted by trees and plants can chemically change our bodies. When a person spends time in a forest (forest bathing) they are showered with these aromatic VOCs and essential oils and breathe them in.
One volatile organic compound, phytoncide, consistently activates the Natural Killer cells in a human. Natural Killer cells are responsible for finding and destroying cancer cells and dangerous viruses.
Researchers have been using phytoncides to create a vaccine to treat SARS viruses like COVID-19 and to treat cancer.
Forests (trees and plants) also emit terpenes as a defense from the hot sun. These terpenes have known benefits to people, they have been used to treat anxiety, reduce inflammation, improve congestion, decrease bad cholesterol, help with relaxation, treat cancer etc.
Different trees emit different terpenes so depending on which forest you spend time in, you might have a different physical or mental health benefit.
Forest bathing experiments also show that exposure to a forest can also reduce high blood pressure and reduce heart rates.
The average person is spending more time on social media, drinking more coffee, and spending more time indoors. All of these factors contribute to the measured rise in stress levels globally. People are more stressed now than ever before due to constant brain stimulation and expectations to respond immediately.
The number of stress hormones in a person’s blood and urine indicate their levels of stress. When a person is in a physically stressed state, some of their less vital systems are shut down (like hair growth and skin health) as these systems are not crucial fight or flight situations.
Forest bathing shows that just 2.5 hours in a forest can reduce these stress hormones (cortisol, adrenaline, noradrenaline). Once these levels decrease to a “normal” level, proper functioning of all the body’s systems can resume to keep them healthy.
Our brains are a muscle and like any other muscle they need rest to perform optimally. When a brain is constantly stimulated (like with social media or working at a computer all the time) it causes a loss of focus and ability to make decisions.
Taking time to spend in a forest can refresh the prefrontal cortex that is used for executive attentional functions and cognitive abilities. Creativity will increase.
Forest bathing is not hiking or meditation, it is simply wandering slowly in a forest, possibly sitting next to a tree and just trying to experience the forest with all of your senses. It is best if you can spend at least 2.5 hours without thinking about the time. You should be free of distractions like a phone or music.
Many people prefer to use a guide for their forest bathing experience. There are several certified guiding companies that will offer this service. The benefit of having a guide is that you will not have to worry about the time, they can make sure you are wandering in a safe area (for those that are not experienced in the outdoors alone) and they make sure that you slow down and remind you to focus on your senses.
If you cannot get into a forest or find a park with trees to forest bathe in, you can still experience some of the physical and mental health benefits of forest bathing with house plants. Researchers have measured the effects of house plants on people and found some of the same benefits. The bigger the plant and the more plants you have can increase your benefits.
So get out there and give it a try – it is fun, relaxing and anyone can do it!
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