In his book Forest Bathing, published this year, Dr. Li starts off by reminding us how good it feels to be in nature. It eases our stress, gives us energy, and helps us to think more clearly. We have known about these benefits for millennia. He set out to understand, from a concrete, scientific perspective, what this secret power of trees is all about. This book is the result of his studies.
The Japanese have a practice they call shinrin-yoku, or forest bathing. In fact this idea was born in Japan and it means bathing in the forest atmosphere, taking it in through our senses. It isn’t the same thing as exercise; it is simply being in nature and connecting.
Dr. Li describes the magnificent forests in Japan – 2/3 of the country is covered in forest. There is much detail about the native trees and the green spaces.
He also discusses modern society in the large cities of the world, including all the stressors that are a result of the population explosion and density in large cities. He states that by 2050, 75% of the world’s projected 9 billion population will live in cities. With this comes noise, pollution, traffic, visual distractions, commuting, technostress, etc. He points out the importance of spending even small bits of time in nature as a way to unplug from these stressors.
Dr. Li goes into detail about the benefits of forest bathing, which include:
- decrease in stress
- better sleep
- improvements in mood
- boost to immune system
Delving further into the scientific basis of how trees are able to have this effect on us, he tells us that their power stems from chemicals called phytoncides and their components, terpenes. There are several different terpenes and these are what you smell while in the forest. In addition to the terpenes, there are microbes in the soil that we breathe in when we walk in the forest and this makes us feel happier. The microbes are a common and harmless bacteria, Mycobacterium vaccae.
Dr. Li cites many studies throughout the book, including his own, and provides a list of references. He also gives extensive information on:
- the “how-to” of practicing forest bathing
- how to reset our internal clocks to forest time
- the future of the forests
- bringing the forest into our homes
- encouraging our children to love the forests, thereby making every effort to preserve them.
While Dr. Li delved into the science at different points in the book, his writing style was so “friendly” and almost conversational, that I really enjoyed reading this book.
I was curious how widespread this concept of forest bathing is, so I googled and it turns out that it really is a thing. There are a bunch of resources on it. Here are a few:
- https://www.mamanatural.com/forest-bathing/
- https://www.npr.org/sections/health-shots/2017/07/17/536676954/forest-bathing-a-retreat-to-nature-can-boost-immunity-and-mood
- https://www.forbes.com/sites/alicegwalton/2018/07/10/forest-bathing-really-may-be-good-for-health-study-finds/#3d6f716c508e
There is also a list of website links in the back of Dr. Li’s book for further reading.
I think I am going to give it a try!
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