Forest Bathing: The Science of Shinrin-Yoku

Shinrin-yoku is the Japanese name for something people have always done: walking slowly among trees with no aim except being there. What is new is the research, which now runs to hundreds of studies and says roughly the same thing every time. Two hours in a forest lowers cortisol, blood pressure and heart rate, and the effect lasts for days. Part of it is the quiet and the light. Part of it is chemical: trees release compounds called phytoncides, and breathing them measurably increases the activity of the immune cells that fight infection. The instructions are almost nothing. Go into the trees, leave the phone, walk slower than feels natural, stop often. Let the forest do the work. It has been doing it for a very long time and it is good at it.