Forest walk: that’s why it’s so healthy

Trees are good for the climate, a walk in the woods is good for your health. You can find out here why you regularly go outdoors and what you should pay attention to.

Forest is good for you. If you go for a walk there, you will quickly feel its healing effects: the fresh air, the tranquility and essential fragrances calm your body and mind. After just 15 minutes, your pulse drops and the release of stress hormones is inhibited. You can effortlessly leave everyday life behind you and breathe deeply.

The forest air is as clean and healthy as hardly anywhere else. The fine dust pollution is a whopping 90 percent less than in the city. In addition, trees emit valuable substances, the so-called terpenes. They serve as a mutual warning against leaf-eating insects and have a positive effect on your health. Fir-like trees also form terpenes, so every type of forest is beneficial.

The significance of the terpenes has a researcher: Qing Li from the indoor team Nippon Medical School examined on twelve people in Tokyo. Six stayed in a room unaware that it was introducing terpenes. The other half slept in a room without terpenes. Blood tests have shown that inhaled terpenes enter the brain through the bloodstream. There they seem to influence the production of messenger substances that can lower blood sugar levels, blood pressure and stress hormone levels.

The power of colors and structures

It’s not just the chemical composition of the air that makes you healthy. The appearance also plays a role: the sight of a forest lowers the stress hormone level by an average of 13.4 percent. Even looking at a virtual forest lets the body release happiness hormones, even if the effect is not as strong as in a real forest. That fits with observations by Swedish doctors: inside Roger Ulrich. Their patients needed less painkillers after operations when a tree grew in front of the window. The study also showed that looking at a house wall was associated with more complications. It has been shown that people who live in green settlements are significantly less likely to develop diabetes, high blood pressure or cardiovascular disorders.

People not only perceive colors visually. All over your skin there are light-sensitive sensors that physically respond to colors. Your nervous system recognizes the color and sends specific signals to your autonomic nervous system. Your metabolism, breathing and blood pressure react depending on the color. This is accompanied by different feelings that you feel when looking at a color.

According to the health insurance company AOK, it has been proven that people with the right colors in the room can work more concentrated or relax more quickly. Green is a life-affirming color that triggers happiness hormones. As the color of nature, it gives you the feeling of security. This feeling is firmly anchored in people, since a green hill or a dense forest was a good hiding place for our ancestors. In addition, it is a color that releases happiness hormones and has a motivating and balancing effect.

It’s also worth a visit in autumn walk through the forest: the color orange has been proven to lead to the release of dopamine, a reward hormone. It has an invigorating and mood-enhancing effect. Experimental psychology studies show that yellow inhibits fears and creates comforting feelings, while red draws attention and sharpens the eye for detail.

The view from a mountain peak offers less detail, but it is good for your eyes. After a long hike, you can look long and deep into the distance. This relaxes the ciliary muscle, which is always tense when looking at close range (laptop, smartphone).

Forest on prescription

Given the many findings, it is not surprising that in some areas of the world forest visits are part of preventive health care. In Japan, Ärtz: inside regularly prescribe “Shinrin-yoku”, in German “Forest bathing“. Even prescriptions are issued for this. The patients should immerse themselves in the forest with all their senses and feel its healing powers. The doctors now know that the forest boosts the immune system. Qing Li’s team found that people who walked in the forest for six hours within three days had an increased number and activity of natural killer cells. These attack tumor cells, among other things. The positive effect on the immune cells lasted for seven days and so Li proposes that regular walks in the forest could prevent cancer. He recommends spending two full days in a forest a month.

Nature affects both the body and the mind. While climate change and the associated extreme weather can trigger anxiety, the interplay of colors and scents in the forest has a positive effect on mental illnesses such as depression and bournout.

You are part of nature

Everyone should enter the forest with respect. It is not just a health resort for people, but also a home for many animals and plants. On your next visit, be sure to behave appropriately:

• Be quiet. Music and loud laughing or shouting not only disturb the animal world, but also other people who are looking for peace and relaxation.
• Don’t leave any trash.
• Pick up other people’s trash. The environment will thank you. You can use a plastic bag you brought with you for this.
• Protect mushrooms and other plants, don’t destroy them.
• Only drive and ride on paths, adjust your speed and protect the forest paths.
• Keep your dog on a leash or very close to you.
• Pay attention to signs and barriers. Do not damage them.
• Adhere to the special entry regulations in protected areas.
• Prevent forest fires, don’t make a fire or smoke in the forest.
• Don’t look the other way when others are not doing the right thing.

Read more on Techzle.com:

• What the forest does for us and how you can protect it
• Forest in Germany is breaking down – 6 things you can do about it
• Natural regeneration: this is why it is so important for the forest