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health benefits
Many recent scientific studies have been conducted on the health benefits of spending time in nature, especially with a mindful approach.
When individuals ruminate, they activate the subgenual prefrontal cortex, which is linked to sadness, withdrawal and grumpiness. When they are in nature, there is a significant reduction of blood flow to this part of the brain. After spending time in nature, we are quicker to recognize happiness, slower to perceive negative emotions and ruminated less.
Forest bathing boosts so-called Natural Killer (NK) cells, which help stave off disease but decline with age, stress and pesticides. In one study, men who took two-hour walks in the woods once a day for two days had a 50% increase in the activity of NK cells, a type of white blood cell that helps fight off infections and cancer. A three-day forest bathing outing has proven to provide an NK cell count boost that lasts 7 days.
Research conducted by the Universities of Utah and Kansas examined the effect on creative reasoning skills of being immersed in nature for a number of days [...] and found that spending time in nature boosts problem-solving ability and creativity by 50%.
“All truly great thoughts are conceived while walking.”
Studies show connecting with wood or a tree can help decrease anxiety and stress, and connecting with the Earth’s soil helps increase the production of serotonin, which helps regulate one’s mood, in the body.
Leisurely forest walks, compared with urban walks, show a 12.4% decrease in the stress hormone cortisol, a 7% decrease in sympathetic nerve activity, a 1.4% decrease in blood pressure, and a 5.8% decrease in heart rate.