If you’ve ever gone for a walk in the woods, then you know the wonder of the feeling you get from it. But did you know that besides giving you a good feeling, walking in the woods is actually good for you? The Japanese call it shinrin-yoku. Translated, it literally means “forest bathing.” And now scientists have found physiological and psychological benefits from forest bathing.
They give a number of factors that contribute to the good health benefits of that walk in the woods (or park), including cleaner air, the relative quietness as compared to city life, and just the chance to separate yourself from the crowds. But researchers at Japan’s Nippon Medical School are offering another theory as to why the walk works: and it has to do with the essential oils that trees naturally emit into the air.
