If you saw last week’s blog post, Why We’re Seeing A Nationwide Mental Health Decline, and think you need to improve your mental and emotional health, forest bathing is an excellent place to start.

Shinrin Yoku was founded in Japan and translates to “forest bathing.” While you aren’t literally taking a bath, you’re bathing in nature and using all your senses to experience your environment. Think of strolling through the woods, feeling the sun on your skin through the trees, listening to the birds and the wind, and smelling the unique scents of the trees and bushes. Bonus points if you’re walking barefoot and taking time to feel the bark on trees as you pass them.

This time spent “bathing” in nature has a calming effect and promotes physiological relaxation and immune function recovery. While many struggle to make the correlation, living in our modern society puts us in a permanent condition of stress; think commuter traffic, bills, deadlines, technology, and constant stimulation.

Scientists in Japan have been studying the benefits of forest bathing and other forms of nature therapies since 1990 and have been able to measure and observe the following results in people:

• Improved immunity with increased natural killer cells known to fight tumors and infection.

• Increased parasympathetic nervous system activity.

• Reduction in blood pressure after only 15 minutes.

• Reduced feeling of stress due to decrease in the hormone cortisol.

• A general sense of well-being.

• Anxiety reduction.

• Improvements in emotional state.

• A reduction in blood pressure which lasted for up to 5 days after forest bathing.

All these tests were undertaken with devices measuring prefrontal brain activity, heart rate, HRV, and blood pressure. Saliva sampling was conducted to measure cortisol. So, for those skeptical or who find this stuff to be “woo-woo,” the hard science is there, and it works!

What's excellent about forest bathing is it’s a way to improve your health without spending a dime. You don’t even need to be in a proper forest; you can receive similar benefits from wooded areas in city parks or botanical gardens.

Participants in the studies received the most significant benefit from walking through the forest at a leisurely pace for two hours or more. It’s important to note, you should keep your phone switched off to allow you to be fully present and soak up the environment around you. You should also pay attention to your state of mind during this time. Does turning your phone off or dedicating time to wandering make you anxious? If yes, you’ve identified a problem and may need to assess where that feeling comes from.

There were also beneficial results observed when sitting, meditating, journaling, or any other type of relaxing activity in nature. Try wandering until you find a comfortable spot, and just sit, breathe, and listen.

This intentional time away from the hustle and bustle of modern life is exactly what we need to restore and maintain our mental health. To learn more about Shinrin Yoku, check out the book Shinrin Yoku by Yoshifumi Miyazaki.