How immersing yourself in nature can improve your health with no side effects.
Follow this authorLeana S. Wen's opinions
FollowLi’s hypothesis for the wide-ranging effects is that being in a forest decreases stress hormones such as adrenaline and cortisol. The reduced stress response relaxes the brain, reduces blood pressure and impacts other body systems including the endocrine and immune systems.
“The relaxing effects of forest bathing begin to appear 20 minutes after you begin and reach their maximum effect after two hours,” Li told me in an interview. “The longer you bathe in the forest, the greater the effect will be.”
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Li explained that though forest medicine is in its nascency in the United States, it is so well established in Japan that there are 65 official “forest therapy bases” across the country. Some Japanese companies contract with these bases to improve their employees’ health and manage their stress, and some even pay for their employees’ forest outings with company insurance.
Forests occupy 67 percent of the land in Japan, making them more easily accessible than here in the United States. So I was glad to learn that city dwellers can experience the benefits of forest bathing simply by visiting local parks. Li himself lives in central Tokyo and practices forest bathing weekly by walking in city parks.
He advised that forest bathing can encompass many activities. “Find a place you like, then sit for a while and read or enjoy the scenery,” he said. “You can do tai chi, yoga or picnic.” Walking is great, but he cautioned against overexerting yourself and recommended resting when you are tired.
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Melanie Choukas-Bradley, a naturalist and forest bathing expert in D.C., offered additional guidance for people interested in trying this practice.
“Any time you take to connect with nature is good for you,” she told me. “If you have five minutes to walk into the backyard and look up through the branches of a tree at the sky, just feel the breeze on your face, feel the sun and feel the rain.”
When Choukas-Bradley leads guided walks, she asks people to try simple exercises that engage their senses. For instance, she asks them to notice what’s in motion.
“It sounds like such a........