To reduce stress and boost your immunity it’s time to try a ‘forest bath’

Fancy a spot of forest bathing? No, it does not involve a swimsuit nor a bath nor indeed any body of water, but rather mindfully meandering through leafy forest areas and looking up at the canopy of trees above you as the sky peaks through. The practice, which is Japanese in origin, as so many wonderful off-piste practices are, is known as ‘shinrin-yoku’ and was first conceptualised in the 1980s, when studies by scientists in the country showed that the process of taking time out to be mindful and meditative in wooded areas actually has a marked positive impact on both physical and mental wellbeing, reducing the production of stress hormones like cortisol. Further studies have suggested that taking a ‘forest bath’ as regularly as your time, circumstances and proximity to wooded areas allows can actually have the power to counter illnesses including cancer, stroke, gastric ulcers, depression, anxiety and stress. It is even said to boost the immune system, lower blood pressure and aid sleep, which is essential for regulation of the body’s circadian rhythms, mental health and good cognitive function, including improved memory.

A chemical released by trees and plants called phytoncides was found by researchers and scientists to boost the immune system.

As more and more data highlighted the benefits of shinrin-yoku, the Japanese government incorporated it into the country’s health programme.

Dr Qing Li, president of the Society for Forest Medicine in Tokyo, and the author of Shinrin-Yoku: The Art and Science of Forest Bathing told the Observer: “It’s a preventative medicine, not a treatment.”

His book offers this advice for the practice of shinrin-yoku: “Make sure you have left your phone and camera behind. You are going to be walking aimlessly and slowly. You don’t need any devices. Let your body be your guide. Listen to where it wants to take you. Follow your nose. And take your time. It doesn’t matter if you don’t get anywhere. You are not going anywhere. You are savouring the sounds, smells and sights of nature and letting the forest in.”

If you stay still and quiet enough during your forest bath, you’re also more likely to see wildlife, such as birds and red squirrels. The advice is that you should try to involve all of your senses. When, pray tell, did you last touch a tree trunk and feel the rough bark, or notice the way sunlight catches the leaves, or try to pick out all the different types of birdsong resounding all about you?

Gary Evans, who set up the Forest Bathing Institute in the UK in 2018, said: “People initially think they’ve been doing this all their lives: going for a walk in the woods. But it might be a brisk walk, or you might be worrying about where the dog has got to. A better way to frame forest bathing is mindful time spent under the canopy of trees for health and wellbeing purposes.”

A typical session might last three hours, and begin with an explanation of the history and science of shinrin-yoku.

“Then it’s about sensory exercises,” said Evans. “We try to hold people’s attention in the present moment, to give their bodies and minds a chance to slow down. We move very slowly, touching the trees, looking at colours and patterns, and breathing deeply. We end up lying down under trees and looking up through the branches.”

Shades of green and blue, the colours of the forest and the sky, are said to be among the most relaxing among all the shades of the rainbow, and connecting with nature, observing its patterns, beauty and stillness, are the perfect tranquillising panacea for an unquiet, hectic mind.

One UK study, carried out by King’s College London and published in January 2018, found that exposure to trees, the sky and birdsong in cities improved mental wellbeing. The benefits were still evident several hours after the exposure.

A study of 585 Japanese people published in 2018 said that city dwellers were “constantly exposed to stressors” and that “urban living is associated with increased risk of health problems”, including anxiety, depression and psychosis.

It concluded: “The psychological benefits of walking through forests are very significant. Urban planners should pay more attention to maintaining and increasing accessible greenery in urban areas. The beneficial effects of nature suggest a simple, accessible and cost-effective method to improve the quality of life and health of urban residents.”

We may be a good 40 years behind Japan, but the idea of forest bathing as a form of social prescribing (non-medical therapies or activities recommended by GPs’ for various problems that can be feasibly addressed by ‘social’ engagement like cookery, gardening, sports, group learning, volunteering, befriending and so on) is starting to gain traction, being recommended by the Woodland Trust, as many look beyond conventional medicine for a solution to overloaded, overwhelmed psyches in an all too fast-paced, high-octane world. In fact, social prescribing is a growing movement in the NHS and forest bathing may be just the solution to your psychological or physiological woes, the ideal cure for an over-stimulated system long past its maximum stress enduring capacity. Indeed mental equanimity has been

all too imperilled by the harsh realities of Covid and lockdown. And of course, there is little danger of viral infection in sparsely populated forests.

At the very least it will allow you to become becalmed by the wooded beauty of the forest environment. And luckily, we have no shortage of forests across Ulster.

Now, as part of a new development by the National Trust, visitors to Minnowburn on the outskirts of Belfast (those of us trapped in the concrete maze of the urban jungle) will be able to experience forest bathing in the utmost comfort thanks to the installation of three forest bathing beds.

Funded by Tourism Northern Ireland’s Experiences Development Programme, the benches have been designed by a local company using oak wood and feature quotes from National Trust co-founder Octavia Hill. The beds have been positioned in areas of the forest specially chosen to make the most of the seasonal views and will be moved to different beauteous spots throughout the year.

“We are thrilled to have completed the installation of the forest bathing beds at Minnowburn,” explains Angie Watson, experience and visitor programming manager for the National Trust in Belfast.

“As we emerge from a global pandemic and face into a national mental health crisis, allowing people to connect to nature has never been so important. Minnowburn, close to the city centre of Belfast, is the ideal place to invite busy people to step back and reconnect with the natural world.”

Angie continued: “We wanted to take the concept of forest bathing to the next level; inviting participation by creating high quality and beautifully crafted beds which allow people to relax, see the sky from a new perspective, and experience the forest in a completely new way. We hope that the beds will encourage people to simply be still, calm and quiet in the forest, allowing them to observe nature, breathe deeply and relax.”

The benefits of nature therapy, of which forest bathing is just one ideal practice, have been well documented in reports commissioned by the National Trust. Findings in a YouGov poll earlier this year, revealed nature and time outdoors has continued to be the salvation for many during lockdown, with over two thirds (67%) of adults agreeing that spending time in nature has made them happier. In NI the Trust has promised to plant 125,000 trees by 2030 to create new green corridors so more people in urban areas can try a forest bath. Give it a whirl.