Forest Therapy, Nature Therapy
The Science of the Forest
It appears that trees and plants do more than release oxygen and absorb carbon dioxide. In a study that appeared in the Environmental Health and Preventive Medicine Journal , researchers conducted field experiments in 24 forests in Japan. Half the participants entered the study environs and experienced a forest , the other half walked in an urban area. On the following day, the participants switched; half of them walked in and experienced an urban area, and the other half walked in and experienced the forest . The results showed that being in a forest environment, as opposed to an urban environment, lowered cortisol, pulse rate, and blood pressure. The forest also promoted greater parasympathetic nerve activity, and lower sympathetic nerve activity. As a result, their bodies became much more relaxed.
A study conducted by researchers at King’s College London, and published in the journal BioScience , found that participants in urban areas boosted their own well-being just by looking up at the sky, being exposed to trees and plants, and hearing birds chirp. These plusses stayed with the subjects for several hours after the exposure to nature.
Trees and plants emit phytoncides, essential oils that protect flora from parasites and germs. There are different types of phytoncides including alpha-pinene, beta-pinene, limonene, camphene, among others. These are natural antimicrobials that also benefit the human body; when we breathe in phytoncides, our bodies get a boost. Phytoncides increase natural killer cell activity and promote higher immunity. They work as anti-inflammatories that reduce oxidative stress , enhance sleep via alpha-pinene, reduce cortisol levels, and reduce blood glucose levels.
Alpha-pinene, or α-pinene, is a terpene or a class of hydrocarbons that occur mostly in plants and also in animals, like koalas. These compounds produce the smell of pines and evergreens and herbs, for example. Alpha-pinene is found in coniferous trees like pines, as well as in evergreen trees like eucalyptus. It is also found in herbs like frankincense, sage, rosemary, and ironwort. Beta-pinene, or b-pinene, can be found in plants like pleasant Himalayan mint and rhododendrons.
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