'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?

[Polarina]

Am I the only one that read the title as "'Forest Bathing' Considered Harmful"?

Increasing exposure leads to stronger immune sys.

[Anonymous Coward]

Increasing exposure to foreign elements leads to a stronger immune system? ASTOUNDING.

Breaking news

[NekSnappa]

People who get off their ass and go outside are healthier than those who don't.

Re:Breaking news

[CraftyJack]

That seems obvious, but wait until you see the rest of the comments.

Re:Breaking news

[lxs]

I think you'll find this to be a controversial statement around these parts.

Re:Am I the only one?

[Spazztastic]

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

[augi01]

In conjunction with this rather astonishing remark, it may also be the case that walking in the forest removes one from an environment associated with many stressful things, i.e. work, school, etc, thereby decreasing their overall stress level. A healthy mind is just as important as a healthy body.

Re:Duh

[Anonymous Coward]

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

[goontz]

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.

Re:Increasing exposure leads to stronger immune sy

[ByOhTek]

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?

[StDoodle]

I had the same double-take, so I looked it up. "Healthful" means something that promotes good health. "Healthy" is a state of good health. In other words, the title is absolutely correct. If you would prefer "'Forest Bathing' Considered Healthy" then you're asking for a title implying that someone named "Forest Bathing" is in a good state of health.

What this article really says....

[rainmouse]

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.

Re:Duh

[Gulthek]

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

[elrous0]

Or it could just be that people who tend to stay indoors all the time also lean towards being neurotic pansies and hypochondriacs.

Re:Duh

[viking099]

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

[BradleyAndersen]

When my children's school forces them to use hand sanitizer by the gallon, and when I see other people's homes so immaculate a single mite of dust does not exist, I cringe, because I know we are no longer allowing children to build any real immunity to anything. Have asthma? Take Tae Kwon Do ... the extra breathing you train yourself to do may just remove the asthma. This terribly written and short-on-details article has a real point.

Re:Breaking news

[Anonymous Coward]

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?

[edittard]

Perhaps it was too long to fit in the headline? Still retarded though, since there's already a perfectly cromulent (and shorter) word: healthy.

Re:Am I the only one?

[Anonymous Coward]

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?

[PopeRatzo]

I must admit that the title immediately got me thinking about opalescent pools of water surrounded by trees and then wondering if it would be so healthy if said pool contained an overly territorial venomous water snake or an alligator having a bad day...

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

[Wonko the Sane]

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

[Anonymous Coward]

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 /.)