Greatest RX: Get Out in Nature

Written by: Hiyaguha Cohen

02 August 2020

Health blog

Article overview:

• Bathing in the forest, walking in the forest, strengthens immune function, lowers blood pressure, improves focus in people with ADHD, accelerates healing after illness or surgery, relieves insomnia and increases your energy levels.
• Scientists believe that trees emit certain substances that are beneficial to health. For one, certain trees like cedar and other evergreen plants disperse essential oils, which can have antimicrobial and immune-boosting effects. Some trees give off a citrus-like scent that stimulates neuroendocrine hormones like oxytocin.
• According to the EPA, the average American only spends seven percent of their time outdoors. So go outside more often!

Time in nature

In her famous book Silent Spring, author Rachel Carson wrote: “If you think about the beauty of the earth, you will find reserves of strength that last as long as life lasts. … There is something infinitely healing in nature's repeated refrains. “These words speak to a truth that many of us instinctively know. When we need to be lifted up, we long for the beach, the mountains, trees and flowers, things that are green and alive. The time we spend in nature makes life seem less ugly and our problems feel less troubling. In fact, studies show that immersion in nature has real power in healing the body and mind.

Japanese forest bathing

In Japan, a practice called shinrin-yoku or "forest bathing" was developed in the 1980s to help stressed out citizens restore wellbeing. After that, forest bathing quickly spread, and now practitioners around the world are promoting the benefits. The practice includes paying attention to sensory experiences while hanging out with the trees – in other words, bathing the senses with the sounds, smells, and sensations in the forest using mindfulness meditation techniques. According to the Shinrin-Yoku website, the practice strengthens immune function, lowers blood pressure, improves focus in people with ADHD, speeds healing after illness or surgery, relieves insomnia, and increases your energy levels. It also brings extras like more luck and a sharper intuition.

And before you make fun of it, these claims are not based on tree hugging wishful thinking, but based on hard research. A 1990 study by Chiba University in Japan found that subjects who walked 40 minutes in a forest had reduced levels of cortisol, the "stress hormone," compared to subjects who walked 40 minutes in a laboratory. While walking is good for your health anywhere, research has shown that this hike in the forest is particularly worthwhile. In a 2010 study, subjects who walked the streets of the city were compared to those who walked in the woods. Those in the forest group not only had a 12.4 percent higher reduction in cortisol levels compared to the city hikers, but also a significantly greater reduction in blood pressure, pulse rate and heart rate. In addition, the time between the trees strengthens the immune function. In an extraordinary study from 2007, researchers found that participants who walked in the forest for just two days for two hours increased the number of immune killer cells in their blood by 50 percent.

Further research on the health benefits of nature

In a related study, participants stared at the wooded landscape for just 20 minutes without the need for a walk. The results showed an average reduction in salivary cortisol of 13.4 percent. As we wrote earlier, high levels of cortisol are related to anxiety, insomnia, fatigue, and susceptibility to illness. These effects affect all aspects of life: workers who have a pastoral gaze from their office window experience higher job satisfaction and less work stress than those who cannot see nature all day, which means even when you are in one Office Trapped When the view is good, you can take advantage of the great outdoors. In fact, a 1984 study of gallbladder patients found that those who looked at trees healed faster and tolerated pain better than those who only looked at a wall. Similar research prompted some hospitals to decorate patient rooms with plants and paintings of nature.

The benefits go on and on. A University of Michigan study sent a group of students on a stroll through a city block and another group on a stroll in an arboretum. Students took all of the memory tests before and after the walks. Those who went for a walk in nature were able to increase their memory scores by 20 percent after the excursion, while those who went for a walk in the city had no memory benefits at all. Likewise, several studies show that living outdoors reduces inflammation, while research in Australia and Taiwan found that children who played outdoors for long periods of time had less than half the incidence of myopia than children who played mostly indoor sports. A study cited in PLOS One also found that after four hours of immersion in nature, participants increased their scores for creative problem solving by 50 percent. Finally, being in the great outdoors appears to significantly lower the death rate and decrease the incidence of various cancers.

Could trees heal?

Scientists believe that all of these benefits are not the result of Sylvan fairies throwing magic dust on those walking among the trees, but that trees emit certain substances that have a positive impact on health. For one, certain trees like cedar and other evergreen plants disperse essential oils, which can have antimicrobial and immune-boosting effects. These oils contain compounds known as phytoncides that can stimulate immune cells, and the effects increase with prolonged exposure. Research shows that the level of phytoncides in the air correlates with the degree of improvement in immune function. In addition, certain trees give off a citrus-like scent that apparently stimulates neuroendocrine hormones such as oxytocin, the "feel-good hormone". This could be responsible for research suggesting that exposure to forest scents works better than antidepressants in relieving symptoms of depression. On the other hand, since research shows that viewing trees from a distance or even through a photo is also beneficial, there is clearly something more at work.

Americans don't spend enough time outdoors

Given the obvious and varied benefits of exposure to trees and bucolic things, it seems like a no-brainer that we should all put on hiking boots and go into the woods. Yet most of us lead indoor lives staring for hours and days at computer screens and televisions. According to the EPA, the average American spends only seven percent of their time outdoors, with six percent of waking hours driving around in cars and the other 83 percent of the available time indoors. The indoor trend is increasing from year to year. In 2007, a study found that the average American spent 25 percent less time outdoors than the average person 20 years ago, while a 2016 study found that children today spend half as much time outdoors than theirs Parents were children. Due to COVID-19, we are getting off less and less today.

If you are lucky enough to live and work in beautiful natural surroundings, be wise and take advantage of them. If not, let research guide you. Decorate your space with plants and shepherd scenes, enjoy a nearby park, plant more trees or bushes in your garden, expose yourself to nature as often as possible, and remember to eat well, do sports, your Detoxifying your system and taking nutritional supplements regularly will improve your immune system to make up for your natural deficit.