Dr. Ming Kuo, a researcher at the University of Illinois, makes some interesting claims about the benefits of walking in natural areas. I heard her on Dr. Michael Mosley’s podcast, “Just One Thing,” and then read some of her papers.
You can find good writing by Thoreau on the benefits of a walk in the woods. But for a long time, the benefits seemed to be psychological, rather than physiological. The best way we had to measure the effects of big doses of nature was the survey: “Do you feel more relaxed or less relaxed when you …. “
Finally, someone decided to measure cortisol, the hormone that is a marker for stress.
This is probably painting it too broadly, but basically you can tell whether someone has been walking through the woods with a saliva test just as you can tell whether someone has been drinking and driving with a breath or blood test that measures alcohol.
The benefits of nature walks go beyond stress relief. The science strongly suggests that doing making them a habit improves the immune system.
When I moved to San Antonio a few years ago, I wanted to get to know the place: the land, plants and wildlife, as well as the people and culture. I started taking daily walks along Zarzamora Creek with a German shepherd.
While I was making notes on water, birds, insects and wildflowers, I couldn’t help noticing that something was happening to me. I tried to be an objective observer. But those walks were— and still are — relaxing, satisfying, joyous.
The Japanese have a tradition of “forest-bathing,” walking through woods with the expectation of being refreshed, cleansed and renewed. Japanese researchers are studying that tradition to see if science can shed any light on it. Hiromitsu Kobayashi, Chorong Song and their colleagues did an interesting study comparing people who walked through forests with those who walked through urban environments.
It’s not just the walking. Those cortisol levels don’t drop if you’re moving along a busy sidewalk.
What’s going on? Kobayashi, Song and their team suggested that E.O. Wilson’s biophilia hypothesis might provide an answer. We human beings evolved in forests. We might feel safest, most at home, there.
If you’re interested, here’s some sources:
• “Just One Thing”
https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/m000vy1l
• Dr. Kuo’s papers
https://psychology.illinois.edu/directory/profile/fekuo
• Hiromitsu Kobayashi, Chorong Song, et. al., “Combined Effect of Walking and Forest Environment on Salivary Cortisol Concentration,” Front Public Health. 2019; 7:376.
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6920124/
• Daniel S. Quintana, Maja Elstad, et. al., “Resting-state high frequency heart rate variability is related to respiratory frequency in individuals with severe mental illness but not healthy controls”; Scientific Reports, Article Number 37212 (2106).
No comments:
Post a Comment