A guide to forest bathing

森林沐浴指南

Life Kit

2023-08-24

17 分钟
PDF

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Spending time in the forest isn't just enjoyable, it's good for your health. Here are some research-backed exercises to try the next time you find yourself under a canopy of trees. Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoices NPR Privacy Policy
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  • You're listening to life kit from NPR.

  • Hey, everybody, it's Marielle.

  • Isn't the forest a magical place?

  • Like when you really venture into the woods and you see these century old trees towering over you, sunlight twinkling through them and spiders weaving their elaborate webs.

  • The smell of pine needles is in the air.

  • Birds are tweeting.

  • You hear a mysterious sound that you're not going to pay too much attention to, but you really hope is not a bear.

  • There is a moment of awe that happens when you step into a forest.

  • And I think a lot of us can sense that forest bathing or taking in the forest through your senses makes us feel better and calmer.

  • I was surprised to learn that there are decades of scientific evidence backing that up.

  • A lot of the evidence comes from Japan, where the term forest bathing originated in the 1980s.

  • Over many years, researchers have shown in peer reviewed studies that time in the forest is a kind of medicine.

  • Forest bathing helps your immune system by increasing your levels of anti cancer proteins and immune cells that kill tumors.

  • It's been shown to lower blood pressure and stabilize blood sugar.

  • It can help with depression.

  • It can lower adrenaline and turn down the dial on your body's fight or flight response.

  • What we could see in the data was that as soon as somebody came into proximity of a tree and they were just present and mindful, paying attention and appreciating the tree, that basically their parasympathetic activity, which is the relaxation response in the body, was increased.

  • I know all of that from spending time with trees.

  • On this episode of Life Kit, we will talk about how to forest bathe, using the research as our guide to what works.

  • And we'll share some exercises to get you started.