Feeling Stressed? Try Forest Bathing.

Image via The Washington Post.

From The Washington Post:

There is a new field of medicine that might sound too good to be true. The therapy can reduce stress, lower blood pressure, improve mood, help with sleep and even enhance the immune system, yet there are no pills involved and no side effects.

This medical field is called forest medicine, based on the practice of shinrin-yoku, a Japanese phrase that translates to “forest bathing.” Forest bathing is not physical exercise, but rather a form of relaxation while experiencing the forest through all five senses.

The idea that being in nature can be therapeutic is not new, but it was only in the last two decades that researchers began documenting the health benefits of forest immersion. Qing Li, a physician and professor at Nippon Medical School in Tokyo, is widely regarded as a founder of the field of forest medicine. He and his colleagues have authored dozens of peer-reviewed papers demonstrating the health benefits of forest therapy.