What is Forest Bathing and Why You Might Benefit from It

Comfortably nuzzled between physical activity and mindfulness practice, forest bathing is becoming a popular way to get out into nature, appreciate the world, and benefit your health all the while.

Known as shinrin-yoku in its origin country of Japan, forest bathing as a term emerged in the 1980s. Its popularity grew in the 90s with research establishing many benefits from it, and it has since become a beacon for combatting tech burnout.

All that said, getting out into nature and enjoying the forest is nothing new. The USA has over 52 billion acres of national parks, not to mention the 188 million-plus acres of national forests. There are also beautiful state parks and state forests.

What forest bathing helps us to do is slow down and absorb the power that the forest possesses, and from that, our bodies and minds get something that they need…truly.

What Is Forest Bathing?

Forest bathing is best done in a forest, deep woods being the best, but a city park with a lot of trees can do in a pinch as well. Walking to a desirable location is great because of the physical benefits of the exercise, and it also helps with getting into the proper mindset.

Once a bather has reached a desirable location, the idea is to spend some serious time there. Studies show that forest bathing is most beneficial when bathers stay in the forest for at least two hours.

The idea of the forest bath, so to speak, is not to push it with exercise but rather to slow the heart rate. It’s an activity, like meditation, centered around being calm physically and focused mentally. Forest bathing can be enhanced with meditation, specifically inhaling for one or two counts and taking twice as long to exhale.

Regardless, the crux of forest bathing—beyond simply being in the forest—is to engage sensually with it. Find spots to sit, stand, or rest, and use your five senses to experience the forest.

That means spending time (several minutes) to listen intensely to the sounds of the forest. It means smelling the soil and trees and plants. It means watching the light come through the canopy or reflections dancing of streams or ponds. It might involve spending some time with no shoes. For those who know how to forage, even tasting the forest is an option.

What Are the Benefits of Forest Bathing?

It’s important to understand the modern ailment of “nature deficit disorder” to explore the benefits of forest bathing. Most of the population now lives in cities, spends the bulk of their time interacting with gadgetry (at work, in the car, at home, walking between the car and the house/office), and rarely experience the natural world.

We live in worlds full of concrete and asphalt. We spend our lives largely indoors where even our homes and furnishings are often no longer constructed with natural materials. The artificiality, even if only subconsciously, is stifling both mentally and physically. Forest bathing is a means of combatting this.

The benefits of getting into the forest are numerous. Firstly, there are the simple physical benefits like the cleaner, higher concentration of oxygen available. Trees and plants also emit chemicals called phytoncides, which are natural oils that help the plants’ immune systems against bacteria, fungi, and other health issues. Exposure to these natural substances has been shown to have a positive effect on humans, too.

Dr. Qing Li, a prominent researcher of forest bathing, has claimed it can lessen stress and anxiety, as well as decrease depression and arrest anger. On the positive, it strengthens our immune system, improves cardiovascular health, boosts metabolic functions, and enhances sleep. It’s a boon for overall wellness.

A Few Forest Bathing Tips

By now, we can only assume that your phone or tablet device is headed back to its case, and you are heading out to the forest for a few hours. To help with this new venture, here are some tips to get the most out of the experience:

1. Conifers like pine, cypress, and so on have the highest levels of phytoncides, so if they are present in the forest, it’s a great time to settle in for a few moments of focus.
2. Do not hurry. While a walk in the park has its own benefits, forest bathing is about spending significant time with trees. Carve out that time so that it’s not yet another instance of clock-watching.
3. Completing little activities can help with passing the time. Having a picnic, journaling, meditating, walking slowly, doing some light yoga, and other such things are totally legit within a forest bathing practice.

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• If You Like Forests, You’ll Love This New Law
• 5 Ways You Can Help Protect the Amazon Rainforest Today!
• Discover the Healing Power of Nature: 14 Medicinal Plants and Their Benefits
• Three-Quarters Of British Kids Want More Time In Nature, Report Says
• 7 Extraordinary Tribes and Communities Across the World Worshiping Nature and Embracing Plant-Based Traditions

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