“Look deep into nature, and then you will understand everything better.” – Albert Einstein
The following was written by Jordan Travers, and is Chapter 8 of his new book, Man Alive: Free your mind. Reclaim your health. Discover your true nature. The book is available on Amazon Kindle here and all other major retailers soon.
In the early 1980s, a radical idea was put forth to the country of Japan that would revolutionise their health care philosophy. This proposal was so far-out that it took over 15 years for medical journals to catch up. It would be one of the greatest discoveries in preventative medicine of all time. This radical concept is known as forest bathing. It seems like common sense, but forest bathing, otherwise known as shinrin-yoku, which translates to “taking in the forest atmosphere”, is now medically recognised as having profoundly healing effects on human physiology. That’s right, spending time in nature is good for you. Some of the significant healing effects of shinrin-yoku include:
- Reduced cortisol levels
- Improved sight and hearing
- Boosting the immune system
- Reducing pulse rate and blood pressure
- Reducing cerebral hyperactivity
- Improved focus and concentration
- Decreased inflammation
- Improved sleep
- Increased pain tolerance
The above list of benefits nearly includes – either directly or indirectly – most physiological processes in the body. There is likely not one part of you that does not benefit from spending time in nature. Let’s dive a little deeper into why this might be the case by exploring what happens to your body when you take in the forest air.
When we gaze amongst clouds, the ocean, rustling leaves or toward a campfire, our eyes tend to dance from one unfocused frame of motion to another. Staring upon these natural phenomena is mesmerising. How many times have you been able to stare into the world of fire for minutes on end without blinking? The reason for this is because your eyes cannot focus, and the muscles that control your eye’s lens can relax, which also allows your brain activity to slow down. A reduction in brain waves has been shown to improve cognitive function and concentration and lead to greater feelings of happiness.
The natural world is loudest during the morning inside a rain forest at about 32 decibels. If you’ve ever woken up deep in the jungles of Asia or Latin America, you would know how terrifyingly loud this can be. Even more terrifying is that most anthropogenic (human-made) noises, especially in cities, are between 80-120 decibels. This noise is many times louder than our ears have evolved with and can lead to chronic cortisol overload and hypertonic muscles. This can create an excessively tight jaw and abdomen, and somewhat more obviously, permanent hearing damage.
When walking in the forest, there is that distinct smell of living, breathing plant biosphere. One of these smells is a group of chemicals known as phytoncides. Plants produce phytoncides to ward off insects, but science has discovered that these natural ‘pesticides’ actually enhance the functions of our immune system, specifically our natural killer cells. Just 12-hours spent in the forest can increase the number of natural killer cells in circulation for up to 7 days afterwards. These immune cells are known for fighting off cancerous and precancerous cells. There are also immune boosting parasites and bacteria that thrive on the living matter of trees and in the dirt.
The immune regulating effects continue. While walking in the forest, our body reduces the number of pro-inflammatory cytokines such as interleukin-6 (IL-6) and TNF-alpha29. Chronically elevated levels of these cytokines, or chemical messengers, are associated with chronic inflammatory conditions such as rheumatoid arthritis and multiple sclerosis.
Taking it a step further, there is the option to get slightly more intimate with nature via barefoot walking. You would likely do this on the beach, but in the forest, it’s much rarer to see someone take off their hiking boots and trudge through the woods. After all, there are snakes, and it is terribly dirty.
Unfortunately though, you’re not allowing your feet to connect directly with the earth. This connection between foot and floor is where an exchange of electrons occurs. Through the normal physiological process, our body builds up an increased level of electromagnetic charge.
In tribal times, we were connected with the planet every day, however, in today’s culture, we sometimes don’t get to dump our electromagnetic waste into the earth for a whole day. In fact, many apartment dwellers in busy cities may not touch their skin with an earthed structure for days on end.
Placing your palms and feet on the bare earth can have a tremendously calming effect on your nervous system. This process is known as earthing and has been shown to reduce inflammation, and chronic stress as well as improves sleep and pain tolerance.
While growing up in the sunny, active, beachside city of Perth, Western Australia, I would spend the majority of my time outside, totally barefoot. I developed strong skin and muscles on my feet and ankles and grew connected with the earth. I moved to the inner-city Melbourne suburb of Fitzroy, Victoria, where there isn’t a beach for many kilometres, and let’s just say it’s a little more ‘grunge’. Over time my feet became soft and weak, and I had lost much of my connection with nature. Now on trips outside the city, I relish in every opportunity I can to take my shoes off and walk on the bare earth. I encourage you to do the same.
If getting your feet dirty is not your thing, there are sandals called Earth Runners that allow a direct connection between the earth and your feet. To understand this for yourself, next time you are at a picnic in the park or walking on the beach barefoot, pay close attention to how you feel. You may realise a deeper connection to your humanness.
New information will continue to emerge, which tells us that interacting with the biosphere is beneficial to our health. For example, the sun gives us vitamin D, but you can’t just take a vitamin D pill and get all of the benefits of the sun. This is because particular types of UV radiation also decrease inflammation, and your risk for demyelinating diseases like multiple sclerosis.
Conversely, when we expose ourselves to chilly weather, our body reacts by contracting the muscles in our skin and the blood vessels beneath. This is the feeling of being alive.
We don’t yet know all the benefits of interacting with nature. From the warmth of the sun, the cold of the wind, the water, or the complete orchestra of nature’s sounds, there are so many possible encounters that your body can have with biology. As eco-biomechanist, Katy Bowman says, “We are missing out on an unquantifiable number of interactions with nature, and our physiology is the worse for it”.
I once stood knee deep in the surf of Bondi Beach, New South Wales, Australia, for 20 minutes. I was amongst a group of movement students with the renowned teacher, Ido Portal. We were instructed to stare out into the ocean and try not to move a muscle. “Don’t blink, don’t even swallow,” I remember him saying. As we stood there gazing out onto the crashing waves, time began to disintegrate. I became acutely aware of every sensation of my body from the sounds of kids playing off in the distance, to the sand collapsing beneath my feet. Tears began to fall down my face, and I felt a deep sense of peace wash over me. Nature had taken me in.
I want you to follow the way. I want you to spend more time in nature. Our evolution as humans has seen us develop biological benefits from the flora around us, and we are denying its benefits by distancing ourselves from it.
If you live in the city, put it on your calendar to take a few hours on the weekend to venture out to the forest, to the beach or a mountaintop. This reconnection should happen at least once per month. Leave your phone at home or in the car. Go alone, or with friends or family. Take off your shoes and look up at the sky and smile. This is the mysterious phenomenon called life. It is all around you, and it is incredibly healing. All you need to do is engage with it.
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