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Forest Bathing: A Retreat To Nature Can Boost Immunity¹ And Mood

DAVID GREENE, HOST:

Ninety-nine-point-nine percent of our evolutionary² history was spent in natural environments. Our bodies are simply adapted to being in nature. But today we are spending most of our lives indoors - you know it - tethered to our devices. Well, now a practice that started in Japan that's aimed at reconnecting us with nature is beginning to take off here in the U.S. It is known as forest bathing. As NPR's Allison Aubrey reports, there's growing evidence its benefits may be just what the doctor ordered.

ALLISON AUBREY, BYLINE³: It turns out there's actually a certified⁴ forest bathing guide right here in Washington, D.C. Her name is Melanie Choukas-Bradley. I met up with her on a lush jungley (ph) island in the Potomac River.

MELANIE CHOUKAS-BRADLEY: I'm totally in love with this island.

AUBREY: It's just a footbridge away from the busyness and noise of the nation's capital.

CHOUKAS-BRADLEY: This is our challenge here. We're right under the Reagan National flight path.

AUBREY: As we step on the trail, everything on this island is green and blooming.

CHOUKAS-BRADLEY: So this is the place where we're really going to begin our forest bathing.

AUBREY: Along the narrow trail, we pass under a canopy⁵ of pawpaws, then black walnut⁶ trees. And we get a little shower of ripe mulberries.

CHOUKAS-BRADLEY: Aren't they beautiful just looking up at the black against the green and the red?

AUBREY: Now, given the term forest bathing, I thought we might be taking a dip in the water, so I've packed my swimsuit. But it turns out my interpretation⁷ was way too literal.

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AUBREY: Melanie gathers us in a circle and invites us to immerse ourselves in what she calls the pleasures of presence.

CHOUKAS-BRADLEY: If you'd like to close your eyes and just breathe this wonderful cool air, just breathe. Just breathe.

AUBREY: So now I'm beginning to get it. Forest bathing is sort of like a cross between a hike and a meditation⁸ class, except there's no destination. The aim here is to slow down and immerse yourself in the forest, tune⁹ into its sights, its smells, its textures¹⁰.

CHOUKAS-BRADLEY: And when you feel ready, open your eyes and imagine you're seeing the world for the very first time.

AUBREY: Suddenly the green looks a lot greener, and I start to see things I hadn't noticed before - the flutter of birds, the ripple¹¹ of the water, the swaying of the trees.

CHOUKAS-BRADLEY: I can hear some summer insects and a bird up in a tree nearby.

AUBREY: As we walk on, Melanie stops us at a bush. I would have just passed by.

CHOUKAS-BRADLEY: If you want to just come scratch this twig¹² of this spice bush and smell it, it's very yummy.

AUBREY: To me, it smells like cinnamon or bay leaf. It's warm and earthy.

CHOUKAS-BRADLEY: Isn't that nice?

AUBREY: Wow.

CHOUKAS-BRADLEY: Yeah.

AUBREY: There's a whole world of fragrance¹³ in the forest. Think of the smell of pine and cedar¹⁴ trees.

CHOUKAS-BRADLEY: There's been a lot of research about the healthy volatile¹⁵ compounds that trees release and how good they are for our own health.

AUBREY: Now I should point out that when my editors asked me to do a story about forest bathing, I did a little eye roll. It sounded so hokey to me. But it's turned out to be a pretty powerful experience, and I wanted to know if it's really doing something good for my health.

PHILIP BARR: As a matter of fact, medical researchers in Japan have specifically studied forest bathing and demonstrated several benefits to our health.

AUBREY: That's Philip Barr. He's the lead physician at the integrative medicine center at Duke University. He reviewed the studies for us, and he says they document a range of effects.

BARR: From lowering blood pressure and heart rate, lowering stress hormones¹⁶, raising immunity and in general allowing the whole body to be in a more relaxed, healing state.

AUBREY: Barr says he thinks a lot of his patients could benefit from forest bathing, especially people dealing¹⁷ with a lot of stress.

BARR: Absolutely forest bathing could be considered a form of medicine.

AUBREY: And as I just discovered, the National Park Service has already rolled out its park prescription¹⁸ program. The aim is to help health care providers get their patients out into nature.

GREENE: Allison Aubrey's voice there. She was reporting. And she is fresh off her forest bathing experience in our studios. Hey, Allison.

AUBREY: (Laughter) Oh, still feeling so relaxed. Hey there, David.

GREENE: Still feeling mellow¹⁹. You sound mellow. Am I allowed to be depressed²⁰ that someone has to fill out a...

AUBREY: (Laughter).

GREENE: ...Prescription to go out into nature? I mean is that where we've come?

AUBREY: I hear you, David. I think Henry David Thoreau might be turning over in his grave (laughter), right?

GREENE: Yeah, I'd say so.

AUBREY: I think it's this idea that a retreat to nature gives us stillness and calm. It's age old. We all already know it, right? I think that, as you mentioned in the introduction to the story, we are tethered to our devices. I mean many of us are just so disconnected from the natural world that I think we may need help or a little nudge just to learn how to hang out. I think that's the point of having a guide in forest bathing. It might be why it's taking off. You know, just like you have a yoga teacher to do yoga, a guide in the forest can help people slow down enough to really immerse themselves in the natural environment.

GREENE: So but let's be clear here, Allison. I could actually get forest bathing on my health care plan potentially.

AUBREY: Well, not yet, but the founders²¹ of this movement hope that that's coming. I mean if you think about the toll²² of stress in our lives - one recent study estimated that workplace stress is linked to about $150 billion in health care costs a year. So if something as simple as being in nature is a good antidote²³ to stress, health care providers might want to think about this.

GREENE: No disrespect to forest bathers, but couldn't I just go take a walk?

AUBREY: (Laughter) Good question. I mean I think any kind of exercise can help with stress relief. It's very well-documented. But the Japanese scientists studied this in a really clever way I think. What they did is they had people walk in an urban area in Tokyo for a few hours. And then a week later, they had them walk in the forest. Now, both of these walks required the same amount of physical activity, but what they found is that the forest environment led to more significant drops in stress hormones and blood pressure. And so that kind of gives you a sense of the scope.

GREENE: What else - you did mention I mean speaking about the difference between city and forest - there are these compounds that the trees give off that can really be good for us.

AUBREY: Yeah, you know, it sounds a little wacky, but trees have these essential oils that give off fragrances²⁴ - so, you know, those cedar and pine smells. And they also have all these other compounds that they release into the air. And when we breathe them in, it turns out there may be some benefit to us as well. I'd say it's still pretty speculative²⁵. But one of the Japanese studies found that just breathing in this forest air compared to what they called blank air actually led to a small decrease in blood pressure on its own.

GREENE: Blank air being like what we're breathing in right now in an office you're saying.

AUBREY: That's what I'm assuming, sort of...

GREENE: Yeah.

AUBREY: ...Blank air, office air.

GREENE: Well, sad that we're both breathing blank air...

AUBREY: (Laughter).

GREENE: ...Today. We should get out and do some forest bathing.

AUBREY: Here's to breathing more forest air and less blank air.

GREENE: There you go. NPR's Allison Aubrey. Thanks, Allison.

AUBREY: Thanks, David.

1 immunity   

n.优惠；免除；豁免，豁免权

参考例句：

• The law gives public schools immunity from taxation.法律免除公立学校的纳税义务。
• He claims diplomatic immunity to avoid being arrested.他要求外交豁免以便避免被捕。

2 evolutionary   

adj.进化的；演化的，演变的；[生]进化论的

参考例句：

• Life has its own evolutionary process.生命有其自身的进化过程。
• These are fascinating questions to be resolved by the evolutionary studies of plants.这些十分吸引人的问题将在研究植物进化过程中得以解决。

3 byline   

n.署名；v.署名

参考例句：

• His byline was absent as well.他的署名也不见了。
• We wish to thank the author of this article which carries no byline.我们要感谢这篇文章的那位没有署名的作者。

4 certified   

a.经证明合格的；具有证明文件的

参考例句：

• Doctors certified him as insane. 医生证明他精神失常。
• The planes were certified airworthy. 飞机被证明适于航行。

5 canopy   

n.天篷，遮篷

参考例句：

• The trees formed a leafy canopy above their heads.树木在他们头顶上空形成了一个枝叶茂盛的遮篷。
• They lay down under a canopy of stars.他们躺在繁星点点的天幕下。

6 walnut   

n.胡桃，胡桃木，胡桃色，茶色

参考例句：

• Walnut is a local specialty here.核桃是此地的土特产。
• The stool comes in several sizes in walnut or mahogany.凳子有几种尺寸，材质分胡桃木和红木两种。

7 interpretation   

n.解释，说明，描述；艺术处理

参考例句：

• His statement admits of one interpretation only.他的话只有一种解释。
• Analysis and interpretation is a very personal thing.分析与说明是个很主观的事情。

8 meditation   

n.熟虑，（尤指宗教的）默想，沉思，（pl.）冥想录

参考例句：

• This peaceful garden lends itself to meditation.这个恬静的花园适于冥想。
• I'm sorry to interrupt your meditation.很抱歉，我打断了你的沉思。

9 tune   

n.调子；和谐，协调；v.调音，调节，调整

参考例句：

• He'd written a tune,and played it to us on the piano.他写了一段曲子，并在钢琴上弹给我们听。
• The boy beat out a tune on a tin can.那男孩在易拉罐上敲出一首曲子。

10 textures   

n.手感( texture的名词复数 )；质感；口感；（音乐或文学的）谐和统一感

参考例句：

• I'm crazy about fabrics textures and colors and designs. 我喜欢各式各样的纺织物--对它的质地，色彩到花纹图案--简直是入了迷。 来自辞典例句
• Let me clear up the point about the textures. 让我明确了一点有关的纹理。 来自互联网

11 ripple   

n.涟波，涟漪，波纹，粗钢梳；vt.使...起涟漪，使起波纹； vi.呈波浪状，起伏前进

参考例句：

• The pebble made a ripple on the surface of the lake.石子在湖面上激起一个涟漪。
• The small ripple split upon the beach.小小的涟漪卷来，碎在沙滩上。

12 twig   

n.小树枝，嫩枝；v.理解

参考例句：

• He heard the sharp crack of a twig.他听到树枝清脆的断裂声。
• The sharp sound of a twig snapping scared the badger away.细枝突然折断的刺耳声把獾惊跑了。

13 fragrance   

n.芬芳，香味，香气

参考例句：

• The apple blossoms filled the air with their fragrance.苹果花使空气充满香味。
• The fragrance of lavender filled the room.房间里充满了薰衣草的香味。

14 cedar   

n.雪松，香柏(木)

参考例句：

• The cedar was about five feet high and very shapely.那棵雪松约有五尺高,风姿优美。
• She struck the snow from the branches of an old cedar with gray lichen.她把长有灰色地衣的老雪松树枝上的雪打了下来。

15 volatile   

adj.反复无常的，挥发性的，稍纵即逝的，脾气火爆的；n.挥发性物质

参考例句：

• With the markets being so volatile,investments are at great risk.由于市场那么变化不定，投资冒着很大的风险。
• His character was weak and volatile.他这个人意志薄弱，喜怒无常。

16 hormones   

n. 荷尔蒙，激素 名词hormone的复数形式

参考例句：

• This hormone interacts closely with other hormones in the body. 这种荷尔蒙与体內其他荷尔蒙紧密地相互作用。
• The adrenals produce a large per cent of a man's sex hormones. 肾上腺分泌人体的大部分性激素。

17 dealing   

n.经商方法，待人态度

参考例句：

• This store has an excellent reputation for fair dealing.该商店因买卖公道而享有极高的声誉。
• His fair dealing earned our confidence.他的诚实的行为获得我们的信任。

18 prescription   

n.处方，开药；指示，规定

参考例句：

• The physician made a prescription against sea- sickness for him.医生给他开了个治晕船的药方。
• The drug is available on prescription only.这种药只能凭处方购买。

19 mellow   

adj.柔和的；熟透的；v.变柔和；(使)成熟

参考例句：

• These apples are mellow at this time of year.每年这时节，苹果就熟透了。
• The colours become mellow as the sun went down.当太阳落山时，色彩变得柔和了。

20 depressed   

adj.沮丧的，抑郁的，不景气的，萧条的

参考例句：

• When he was depressed,he felt utterly divorced from reality.他心情沮丧时就感到完全脱离了现实。
• His mother was depressed by the sad news.这个坏消息使他的母亲意志消沉。

21 founders   

n.创始人( founder的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• He was one of the founders of the university's medical faculty. 他是该大学医学院的创建人之一。 来自辞典例句
• The founders of our religion made this a cornerstone of morality. 我们宗教的创始人把这看作是道德的基石。 来自辞典例句

22 toll   

n.过路(桥)费；损失，伤亡人数；v.敲(钟)

参考例句：

• The hailstone took a heavy toll of the crops in our village last night.昨晚那场冰雹损坏了我们村的庄稼。
• The war took a heavy toll of human life.这次战争夺去了许多人的生命。

23 antidote   

n.解毒药，解毒剂

参考例句：

• There is no known antidote for this poison.这种毒药没有解药。
• Chinese physicians used it as an antidote for snake poison.中医师用它来解蛇毒。

24 fragrances   

n.芳香，香味( fragrance的名词复数 )；香水

参考例句：

• The bath oil comes in various fragrances. 这种沐浴油有不同的香味。
• This toilet soap lathers so nicely and has several fragrances. 这种香皂起泡很多，并且有好几种香味。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》

25 speculative   

adj.思索性的，暝想性的，推理的

参考例句：

• Much of our information is speculative.我们的许多信息是带推测性的。
• The report is highly speculative and should be ignored.那个报道推测的成分很大，不应理会。