Slashdot Mirror
'Forest Bathing' Considered Healthful
Hugh Pickens writes "The NY Times reports that although allergies and the promise of air-conditioning tend to drive people indoors at this time of year, when people spend time in more natural surroundings — forests, parks, and other places with plenty of trees — they experience increased immune function. A study of 280 healthy people in Japan, where visiting nature parks for therapeutic effect has become a popular practice called 'Shinrin-yoku,' or 'forest bathing,' found that being among plants produced 'lower concentrations of cortisol, lower pulse rate, and lower blood pressure,' among other things. Another study in 2007 showed that men who took two-hour walks in a forest over two days had a 50-percent spike in levels of natural killer cells, and a third study found an increase in white blood cells that lasted for a week in women exposed to phytoncides in forest air."
Am I the only one that read the title as "'Forest Bathing' Considered Harmful"?
Increasing exposure to foreign elements leads to a stronger immune system? ASTOUNDING.
People who get off their ass and go outside are healthier than those who don't.
I want to shoot the messenger!
You lived on a farm, i.e. you probably had lots and lots of clean air around you. Your city dwelling friends were surrounded by vast amounts of pollutants.
I've actually been planning a backpacking/primitive camping trip with a buddy of mine for a while now, which was prompted in part by a random feeling of being tired of all the comforts we take for granted, as well as realizing how out of touch the majority of people are (myself included) with nature and the associated skills that come with it (the ones that many of our Dads may have taught us, and we've since forgotten). I'm glad to know that the trip will have these other benefits too.
Not really, I remember reading similar (but more generic) findings nearly 10 years ago - in general, more exposure to foreign things tends to lead to a stronger immune system. This follows pretty directly from that, I think.
Self proclaimed typo king, and inventor of the bear destroying coffee table (patent not pending).
What this article really seems to be saying is that living in towns and cities is harmful and that hanging out in parks and forests temporarily alleviates the symptoms.
My wife grew up surrounded by animals and has extremely bad allergies. She didn't know what it was like to breathe normally until she moved into her first apartment that had always been animal-free.
Anecdotal evidence is anecdotal.
It has increased a monoculture of trees in the form of stripped native forests that have been replanted with pulpwood trash pines.
DAGS on the American Chestnut tree to see what can happen to a monoculture.
Sure more trees is better than fewer trees, but a 5 year old slash pine isn't nearly as useful to the environment as a 150 year old oak.
Maybe in the Midwest there's plenty of farmland or pastures available for developing, but in everywhere I've lived in the southern US most new housing development have come at the cost of native forests.
All this article affirms is that reducing chronic stress makes people healthier.
Stress evolved to be an acute reaction to a specific stimuli. When your stress reaction becomes chronic your health suffers.
Ergo anything that reduces your stress response will improve your health.
I expect that people who had some type of forest phobia would not receive the same benefit.
not only that, but the social skills that come with interactions. I'm constantly amazed at how complex the "rules" get for their games. Considering they had to invent them, compromise, figure out "teams", police themselves, follow them and work out differences, it really does involve a lot of "work". Much better than turning out to be a pasty white, allergic social retard (sorry /.)