What is Forest Bathing? The Science Behind Stress Relief)
What is Forest Bathing? The Science Behind Stress Relief)
Forest bathing is based on a Japanese practice called shinrin-yoku developed in 1982 by the Japanese Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries. Shinrin-yoku which translates to forest well or forest bathing in English is defined as making contact with and taking in the atmosphere of the forest. This is something you can do on your own, but the practice of forest therapy uses trained guides who set the pace and help you mindfully experience the forest using all of your senses.
A few references
Park, B. J., Tsunetsugu, Y., Kasetani, T., Kagawa, T., & Miyazaki, Y. (2010). The physiological effects of Shinrin-yoku (taking in the forest atmosphere or forest bathing): evidence from field experiments in 24 forests across Japan. Environmental health and preventive medicine, 15(1), 18–26.
Kim, J. G., & Shin, W. S. (2021). Forest Therapy Alone or with a Guide: Is There a Difference between Self-Guided Forest Therapy and Guided Forest Therapy Programs?. International journal of environmental research and public health, 18(13), 6957.
Yau, K. K., & Loke, A. Y. (2020). Effects of forest bathing on pre-hypertensive and hypertensive adults: a review of the literature. Environmental health and preventive medicine, 25(1), 23.
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I’ve been forrest bathing since 1971… 51 years. We call em "the woods" here in the NC mountains.
Absolutely my favorite place to be🥰
At first I was disappointed that you weren’t referring to a literal bath but the topic itself was so interesting it’s hard to be let down haha. Science and nature always blows my mind! Thank you for sharing.
When she said "He’s a homie here in Atlanta" I deeply resonated with her.
I walk in forest every day with my dog if I feel anxiety it makes me feel so much better I absolutely love my woodland walk I love the trees and hearing the birds whistling
Woohooo…🥶🥶
Last few days all I have in my mind is that I need to go to the woods and spend time alone, from the moment I wake up till I go to bed.. I’m "highly intuitive person" and last one year was so much stress and my mental health was never so bad. Actually I never had any mental problems, depression or anything but now.. it’s easier to say what is good still. My physical health is actually more than just good, always been so, only sickness I had was the one that every child has to go through. Never had any other health problems, thankful for that. From girl with no other obligations but to have fun and study, I got married, love my husband and he is amazing to me, but since he got sick I must do all, while he looks at TV in the bed. I’m happy to be able to help him but I notice that I sometimes leave him to sleep longer just so I can be in silence.. So tomorrow I’m going to the woods, alone.. I feel I need it and this video confirms that. 🍀♥️🇨🇭
Dr. Marks- Thank you for introducing the healing practice of forest bathing to your community. Our hope is everyone who watches your video will be inspired to try it and re-discover their connection to the natural world. In harmony, Regan and Julie at The Forest Therapy School
One small reflection Doctor: I have studied the writings of C.G. Jung for all of my adult life.. he states throughout that we are the carriers, in the depths of our unconscious, of the history and earliest memories of mankind, i.e. the history of our species (the archetypes). He commented that walking in nature re-binds us to our very origins, where walking in forest environments re-awakens the realisation that we belong to, and are part of, nature. What you say is brilliant, but there may be a Jungian connection as well….
That shout-out to killer Mike🔥🔥🔥 you are goals Dr. Marks!!!
Thanks
Phytoncides are good for you.
Just Imagine living in a Balsam fir garden forest here in New York State
I’m ready for a Dr. Tracy Marks tee shirt!
… I resist the urge to Google rapper homie
What if you live in a desert?
Dr. Marks – you are great!
Knowing that I’m finally free from this deadly Herpes Virus infection is a big relief for me and my family members. All that’s to this great Dr Igudia on his YouTube channel who cured my Herpes Infection with his natural herbs medication which I ordered form him.
I love to be in the forest as much as I love the beach. I hike at least twice a week to relieve stress. I would get shamed by my partner because I would use too much energy to go hike and used it as a need instead of a want due to my adhd. I’d guess having too much energy bothered my partner. I feel grounded and its very therapeutic when out in nature. It lets me press the reset button and helps me focus. Thank you for the videos dr. Marks, I find them entertaining, educational and short enough to pay attention to these important topics. So grateful 😊
I always wanted to experience this I want my bathroom to feel like I’m outside for sureeee
Some actual science behind the benefits of nature — intriguing!
…also, could you either get rid of that parenthesis, or pair it up like it’s supposed to be? It’s bugging my brain 😅
The light filtering through the green leaves gives off a special green, healing light, also.
So glad you brought attention to this therapy. You don’t miss much and I love your mission to help others:)
It’s the reflected red & green light from the plants leaves
Thank you so much for your videos Tracey! You are a great teacher and i love the wide range of topics you talk on. I share your videos with my clients. Many of them have been so helpful to me. I’m truly grateful, thank you! ❤
I love your videos, thank you 🙂
amen forest bathing is my favorite hobby
3:44 mirror neurons. Isn’t the forest just stimulating these to create a sense of Wellness in ourselves. Was to become suddenly silent or an aggressive noise being made went to feel goods from your Forest bath wash away in a sea of stress hormones?
😂😂😂 killer mike I love this lady
So Japan in 1980s got something right even we in Finland don’t still seem to honor as much as them. Woah. Nice one Japan 🙂 I love this.
Decades before I had heard that Japan coined the term "Forest Bathing", I had a low-pay job and was in debt, so I cancelled my rent apartment deal and moved to sleep in the city woods while I worked in a low-pay job. I did that for 9 months, and that thought that someone could come kill you in the forest when you sleep, was there. Not so much when I was awake or not going to sleep, then it always felt safe. But sleeping in city woods near where people live, that’s kinda making you feel somewhat unsafe. And that was the biggest problem with that experience for me. And for the record, in the factory we worked in, we had at least 100 workers, and at least one guy who worked there at that time, had already done that thing for months once too. So it’s not that uncommon in Finland, but I think here people do it more for the money than for the benefits, because they don’t seem to get the benefits yet, even though they will if they do it.
So just wanted to share, Finland also has some people with experience on this, even though in Finland the term has not been adopted nor coined yet.
I remember reading bird chirping is signaling there’s no danger because birds are not chirping when there’s a storm so humans are calmed down by birds singing.
Thank you! I love you!
It’s amazing how God set all of this up!!
I call this camping get away from everything being in the out door all problem get left behind for a few days , hunting and fishing as well has the same effect for me most of time I end up falling asleep just relaxing sitting in my tree stand or blind , I grew up playing i running around in the woods my favorite place to be just you and nature
GOD strictly forbids occultism and spiritism! Please don’t worship nature, worship our CREATOR! Accept JESUS CHRIST as your Lord and Savior today!!! Please read the Bible, listen to real theologians like Dr. John Ankerberg, Dr. David Reagan and their guests – also on end times events.
is this… is this why i wanna live in the forest so bad
I love this😍
Thank you. I will do the master for forest bathing guide and i am excited!! Hope this will be my main job 🙂
Wow what a concept, prescribe that people spend time in nature to counteract the negative effects of living in a modern industrial society? Srsly do you really think you need to explain scientifically how being in nature affects human physiology? Just try practicing yoga outdoors in nature, and BREATHE!
"It is no measure of health to be well adjusted to a profoundly sick society" – J. Krishnamurti
I’ve been getting it all in one from petrichor. The first rain always brings me happiness through out all my senses. The smell of the popped specific chemical stuff from when the rain hit the heat on the ground. I always greedily inhale it. If only there were a perfume with this kind od smell. And then, the rhythmic sound of the rain. On the rooftop, on the street, or the one knocking on the my window. It spoils my ears. They adore it so much. And at last, the view. The rain, to me, is always like an endless curtain covering all surfaces of Mother Earth. It showers her with the love it pours on her. It makes her smile and grow all the things that lives on her. ( Skaista Lynn, 2022)
Doc I’ll take your word on it, yo I’m not messing with no woods but I do have a few trees in my backyard…
I was diagnosed with stage 4 cancer, lots of intense pain. A YouTube made me to go to nearby bush to meditate and bask in nature’s beauty. This YouTube explains how it helped me improve my healing. Thanks
Haven’t watched the video yet, but maybe it’s the proper place to express interest in _rural therapeutic communities_ , like farms or places with some sort of cottage industry – in contrast to the ‘consumer culture’ and ‘service economy’ of professional psychotherapy.
I do have communities like ‘Camphill’ for the disabled in mind, prevalent in 20th century Britain – but one can wonder whether there’s a history and subculture in the South, despite or maybe especially due to it’s colonial past (e.g. relating to civil rights movement initiatives or ‘traditions’).
Sometimes, observing that certain places exist, offers a sense of realistic hope.
Our forests are truly a blessing.
I really enjoy & learn from your videos. Thank You for the information that you provide.
Tracey…
It’s been a good ‘New Yawk minute’ since I stopped by to check up on ya (smile)
So i see you’re going all the way in on this YouTube stuff. Proud of ya! (smile again)
So i see you have almost 240 videos and been pretty consistent with your video uploading. So my ?’n is how long do you feel it took you to get your 1st 100k YouTube subscribers? Last time I stopped by your humb le abode, you were going on 700k YouTube subscribers.
Hope to hear from you momentarily. And you’re welcome to stop by my channel sometime and share valuable insight on videos.
Thanks.
There’s a 4th way that forest bathing is really beneficial – greenery reflects an huge amount of red light and near infrared light.(Remember, sunlight was once used to treat TB). Red and near infrared light have strong anti-inflammatory effects on the body and on the immune system, so much so that it has been used experimentally to treat covid pneumonia in case studies and small-ish but statistically significant studies, such as a Brazilian one where measurable blood parameters improved in the experimental group enough that these patients got out of the hospital on average four days earlier than the control group. (Btw, unlike UV light, red and near infrared light have long enough wavelengths that they can penetrate clothing.) I recommend Roger Seheult’s MedCram videos on Light as Medicine. His discussions are pretty technical, but still accessible to laypeople.
Thank you, Doctor, for sharing your knowledge. I am excited to learn more about this. Are there books you know of in this subject that you can list?
Honestly, I just want to live in a forest. Already planing my retirement.
How interesting! I love this.
I have an outdoor shower at my mountain cabin in Colorado. I feel incredible taking showers in the woods. 🙏🏼❤️