The Power of Forest Bathing
Often times, we might find ourselves overwhelmingly immersed in our everyday stresses: work, school, jam-packed schedules. According to a survey conducted by the EPA, Americans spend 87% of their times indoors with an additional 6% in an enclosed vehicle.
It has been concluded that forests can “promote lower concentrations of cortisol, lower pulse rate, lower blood pressure, greater parasympathetic nerve activity, and lower sympathetic nerve activity than do city environments.” Yet, most individuals spend more than a majority of their time indoors.
Through practicing Shinrin-yoku, meaning “forest bathing,” the physical and mental tolls that stresses of the modern life can wreak are essentially negated. It has even been found that levels of hostility and depression can be significantly decreased with an increased practice of Shinrin-yoku. In fact, in one study, stress levels were directly related to the magnitude of the effect of forest bathing; the higher the stress level, the greater the effect.
The neurological and physical effects from time spent in forest environments, or even any environment with natural aspects other than the skyscrapers and concrete we face every day, cannot be under-emphasized. These moments we spend within the natural world, even if it is within our urban cityscape, are essential to our well-being and can shape our society as a whole.
-Greer Lowenstein, Fordham University ‘19
