Forest medicine: Healing in the forest

Tropical forests, which sustain nearly two-thirds of the world’s flora and fauna diversity, cover about 7% of the earth’s land surface, according to a study published in Nature Communications in 2019.

However, due to mismanagement and human activities that degrade the forests, this figure is shrinking. Almost 15% of the world’s tropical forests are found in Southeast Asia alone. According to a research article, Change in tropical forest cover of Southeast Asia from 1990 to 2010, the region’s forests, SSP 3 (regional rivalry/a rocky road), would decrease by 5.2 million ha by 2050, and would include at least four of the twenty-five key global biodiversity hotspots.

Declining forests

This is a tragic situation given the importance of forests in the survival of living things. With the discovery of new ways for forests to impact human health, forests are being lost due to irresponsible human activities and a disregard for their preservation due to a lack of or insufficient environmental policies.

Forest lands are slowly decreasing in the Philippines, but that does not mean that policies prohibiting logging, mining, and other similar activities do not exist. However, there are gaps in local policies, and massive infrastructure as well as commercial interests that allow for land conversions is taking precedence over protecting land tracts that should have been nurtured.

There are now studies that show how exposure to nature can have significant health benefits. Perhaps the country’s health agency should join the call to protect forests and the environment as a whole in order to promote natural health and immunity and save money on healthcare costs.

Reconnecting with nature is one of the most natural, practical, and inexpensive ways to improve mental and physical health. It is also one method of grounding oneself and increasing intuition and perception.

A recent study, one of many, has highlighted the physiological effects of Shinrin-yoku 森林ーよく, also known as Forest Bathing. The study on the effects of forest bathing on health,  published online in National Library of Medicine ,  presents new results from field experiments conducted in 24 forests across Japan involving 12 subjects in each experiment, totalling 280  with ages 21.7 ± 1.5  who walked in and viewed a forest or city area. 

Since 2004, Japan has been conducting research on the benefits of Shinrin-yoku  – Shinrin in Japanese means “forest,” and yoku means “bath.”

Forest bathing, also known as forest therapy, is defined as “total immersion in the forest atmosphere through all five senses”. Forest Bathing is a simple practice, and one does not need to go to a “forest” to benefit from its healing powers.

You can begin your nature therapy just by going to a park or natural area and immersing yourself in it using all of your senses — smell, touch, feel, hear, and taste.

A similar study, Effects of forest environment on health promotion and disease prevention – the Establishment of “Forest Medicine,” by author Qing Li of the Department of Rehabilitation Medicine, Graduate School of Medicine, Nippon Medical School, was published in 2008. According to the study, Forest Medicine is a combination of alternative, environmental, and preventive medicine that investigates the health benefits of forest bathing.

Benefits of and ways to Shinrin-yoku

Reconnecting with nature is one of the most natural, practical, and inexpensive ways to improve mental and physical health. It is also one method of grounding oneself and increasing intuition and perception.

Forest bathing may aid in the prevention of noncommunicable diseases such as cancer by increasing human natural killer (NK) activity, which is known for killing virally infected cells and detecting and controlling early indicators of cancer; lowering blood pressure and heart rate, lowering stress hormones, and boosting immune function, all of which may enable the prevention of COVID-19, though more research is needed.

A recent study, one of many, has highlighted the physiological effects of Shinrin-yoku, also known as Forest Bathing. The study on the effects of forest bathing on health, published online in National Library of Medicine ,  presents new results from field experiments conducted in 24 forests across Japan involving 12 subjects in each experiment, totaling 280 with ages 21.7 ± 1.5 who walked in and viewed a forest or city area. 

Since 2004, Japan has been conducting research on the benefits of Shinrin-yoku  – Shinrin in Japanese means “forest,” and yoku means “bath.”

Forest bathing, also known as forest therapy, is defined as “total immersion in the forest atmosphere through all five senses”. Forest Bathing is a simple practice, and one does not need to go to a “forest” to benefit from its healing powers.

You can begin your nature therapy just by going to a park or natural area and immersing yourself in it using all of your senses — smell, touch, feel, hear, and taste.

A similar study, Effects of forest environment on health promotion and disease prevention – the Establishment of “Forest Medicine,” by author Qing Li of the Department of Rehabilitation Medicine, Graduate School of Medicine, Nippon Medical School, was published in 2008. According to the study, Forest Medicine is a combination of alternative, environmental, and preventive medicine that investigates the health benefits of forest bathing.

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