{"id":8088,"date":"2019-01-25T14:00:22","date_gmt":"2019-01-25T22:00:22","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.everywomanover29.com\/blog\/?p=8088"},"modified":"2019-01-24T17:17:41","modified_gmt":"2019-01-25T01:17:41","slug":"anxiety-stress-and-high-cortisol-forest-bathing-to-the-rescue","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.everywomanover29.com\/blog\/anxiety-stress-and-high-cortisol-forest-bathing-to-the-rescue\/","title":{"rendered":"Anxiety, stress and high cortisol: forest bathing to the rescue"},"content":{"rendered":"

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On the way home from a snorkelling trip to the beach earlier this week we stopped at Centennial Park in Sydney<\/a>\u00a0and were wowed by the magnificent trees. It inspired me to write this blog about forest bathing to inspire you to think about the power of nature as a simple way to give you joy and contribute to a wonderful sense of calm and peace. I was quite giddy with these feelings while there and still feel waves of awe days later when thinking about it and looking at these pictures of the Paperbark Grove and the massive Morton Bay fig trees.<\/p>\n

We know being in nature has a psychological impact making us feel calm and relaxed, happy and joyful, and even playful. But what exactly is forest bathing and are there really physiological impacts i.e. does forest bathing simply help you feel good or does it actually lower your cortisol levels or blood pressure?<\/p>\n

This paper, The physiological effects of Shinrin-yoku (taking in the forest atmosphere or forest bathing): evidence from field experiments in 24 forests across Japan<\/a>, defines forest bathing:<\/p>\n

The term Shinrin-yoku (taking in the forest atmosphere or forest bathing) was coined by the Japanese Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry, and Fisheries in 1982. It can be defined as making contact with and taking in the atmosphere of the forest: a process intended to improve an individual\u2019s state of mental and physical relaxation<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

The above study set out to measure and clarify the physiological effects of Shinrin-yoku or forest bathing with 12 young male university students who had no history of physical or psychiatric disorders:<\/p>\n

12 subjects walked in and viewed a forest or city area. On the first day, six subjects were sent to a forest area, and the others to a city area. On the second day, each group was sent to the other area as a cross-check.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

The participants sat and viewed the landscape for 12-16 minutes and then walked in the landscape for 14-18 minutes (in one of the 24 forests and then in one of the 24 city areas on the second day).<\/p>\n

The subjects had the following markers measured before breakfast and both before and after the walking and viewing periods:<\/p>\n