'Forest Bathing' Considered Healthful 252
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? (Score:5, Insightful)
Increasing exposure leads to stronger immune sys. (Score:2, Insightful)
Increasing exposure to foreign elements leads to a stronger immune system? ASTOUNDING.
Breaking news (Score:5, Insightful)
Re:Breaking news (Score:4, Insightful)
Re:Breaking news (Score:3, Insightful)
I think you'll find this to be a controversial statement around these parts.
Re:Am I the only one? (Score:3, Insightful)
Am I the only one that read the title as "'Forest Bathing' Considered Harmful"?
It's a kdawson article, what do you expect? The moron decided to change the title from the original submission of "'Forest Bathing' is Good for Your Health" that pickens submitted it as to this garbage.
Also, I read it as the same thing.
Re:Breaking news (Score:5, Insightful)
Re:Duh (Score:1, Insightful)
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.
Good news (Score:3, Insightful)
Re:Increasing exposure leads to stronger immune sy (Score:3, Insightful)
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.
Re:Am I the only one? (Score:2, Insightful)
What this article really says.... (Score:5, Insightful)
Re:Duh (Score:5, Insightful)
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.
Re:Breaking news (Score:3, Insightful)
Re:Duh (Score:2, Insightful)
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.
Re:Breaking news (Score:2, Insightful)
Re:Breaking news (Score:1, Insightful)
You can safely eat many things that would be harmful if inhaled, your stomach is different than your lungs.
Re:Am I the only one? (Score:3, Insightful)
Re:Am I the only one? (Score:1, Insightful)
I'm so sick of UK language snobs...particularly the ones who speak from the wrong orifice. MW says 'healthful' dates back to the 14th century. I'm not sure what other kinds of English they had back then, but I'm betting this qualifies as (UK) English.
Re:Am I the only one? (Score:3, Insightful)
And working out in the exclusive East Bank Club here in Chicago might be dangerous if the pilates instructor turned out to be a serial killer and cut your throat.
So what's your point? That if you go outside your house there's a chance that something bad might happen? Or that if you are born there is a near certainty that something bad will happen to you at some point in your life?
Re:Increasing exposure leads to stronger immune sy (Score:4, Insightful)
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.
Re:Growing up in Europe and America - Kids Outdoor (Score:1, Insightful)
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 /.)