Reduce stress in the workplace from above
It may not get you clean
, but “
forest bathing
” (or Shinrin-yoku, as it’s called in Japan) offers an impressive array of health benefits. Chief among
them is its ability to reduce stress and anxiety. As little as twenty minutes of “taking in the forest atmosphere”
has been shown to significantly lower levels of cortisol in the bloodstream. Some researchers have gone so far as to suggest
that merely
gazing
at a forest may offer protection against cancer, depression, and dementia as well. Below is the largest Artificial
Sky ceiling in the world, located in Bethesda, MD.
What’s cortisol?
It’s the primary hormone your body produces when you’re under stress. Cortisol is often referred to as
the “fight-or-flight” hormone–for good reason. For example, lets say you’ve got a deadline for a
online blog bearing down on you. Before you can tackle that stressor, you have to navigate rush hour traffic while
a family member turns up the volume on the radio so he can hear it comfortably above the high-pitched screeching your car
has just starting to emit. As the number of stressors climbs, a well-meaning-yet-primitive part of your brain has been
signaling your faithful adrenal glands to release stress hormones so that you can either (a) fight the wild online blog,
your son, and the car, or (b) flee from them.
Chances are you’ll neither fight nor flee. If your natural disposition is fairly laid back, your cortisol
levels will return to normal once the stressors are removed (in this case, parked the car, finished your online blog, and
settled into your easy chair). If you’re more sensitive to stress or you find it difficult to relax, your cortisol
levels may stay elevated far after the stressors are removed. In this case, cortisol is not doing you any good.
In fact, it’s probably harming you.
According to experts at the Mayo Clinic, overexposure to cortisol and other stress hormones puts you at increased risk
for a number of health problems, including:
-
Heart disease,
-
Sleep disorders,
-
Digestive problems,
-
Memory impairment,
-
Depression, and
-
Obesity
One of the most comprehensive studies of forest-bathing involved experiments with 280 participants in 24 forests across
Japan. Participants took turns viewing or walking in both forest areas and city areas. Each session was limited
to approximately 15 minutes. At baseline, and before and after each session, researchers measured each participant’s
cortisol level, blood pressure, and heart rate. The results indicated that forest landscapes significantly lowered
cortisol levels, heart rates, and blood pressure –whether the participants walked within these settings or simply
viewed them. Earlier research had shown that stress indicators were lowered somewhat by simply viewing images
of forest landscapes while indoors.
How can a forest have such a profound effect on our stress levels? Japanese researchers believe we’re actually designed
to live in forests and other natural areas. Humans lived in forest environments for almost 5 million years. We’ve been
living in cities for less than two thousand years.
Japan is not alone in recognizing the health benefits of natural environments. In fact, many medical facilities have incorporated
products from
Artificial Sky
to help patients recover faster. In addition to this, academic institutions have started integrating life-size nature
murals and
sky ceilings
to encourage and make classrooms more conducive to learning. A lot of business establishments began to realize the
benefits and use this healing art to make their employees more productive and in the retail setting, entice their customers
to stay there longer.
REFERENCES
-
Park BJ, Tsunetsugu Y, Kasetani T, Kagawa T, Miyazaki Y. 2010. The physiological effects of Shinrin-yoku
-
Williams, F. December 2012. Take Two Hours of Pine Forest and Call Me in the Morning .
Outside Magazine
.
-
Mary Hall. 2013. Making a splash in preventative health
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