I worked late last night. That’s not unusual for me (or many others!), as doing a combination of long and short work-days means I can spend more time at home when I need to. It’s just how my life has to work. The last thing I did before I shutdown my computer at 10 o’ clock, was make a “To do” list. I’ve not been sleeping that well recently, and as soon as I stir into consciousness in the middle of the night, my thoughts automatically turn to work and everything I have to do. The list-making, late last night, was an attempt to ward off those rising feelings of anxiousness which always seem so much less manageable in the wee small hours. So, it kind of worked, but even so, when my alarm went off at 7.00am this morning I didn’t particularly feel as if I’d had a great night, so I decided to have a walk in the forest before I tackled the tasks of the working day.
It wasn’t a particularly pleasant morning to be out walking – grey, a bit misty, with light drizzle - commonly known as “dreich” up here. I started off on one of the tracks through the trees and then on a whim, turned off and roughed it through the forest. Had it been spring or summer, I wouldn’t have done this, as leaving the forest tracks and walking through the forest, even on a trail, can lead to disturbing breeding birds, in particular, of course, capercaillie. But that’s when my walk became a wander. Or perhaps, more accurately, a wonder.
Here’s a question for you: “What is your natural habitat?” I’m pretty sure the majority of you haven’t just said “the pub” or even “my home”, but have instead called to mind your favourite wild space; the place where you feel most alive, most energised, most stimulated, but also most relaxed.
My place to play and pray (though I’m not religious) has to be the ancient Caledonian pineforest here at RSPB Abernethy. A walk in the forest has an immediate calming effect on my body and mind, yet inspires and invigorates me too. When life and work get a little too full-on, I escape into the forest and drink in the trees’ good-tidings as if they were some sort of drug. Hence this morning’s foray into the world of ancient Scots pines, straggly junipers, vital deadwood and heather hummocks. As I’ve already said, it was dreich, so please excuse the quality of the photos.
There have been many well-publicised and moderately successful exhortations to get away from the hustle, bustle and stresses of modern day living, and escape to our natural habitats to lead happier, healthier, freer lives. As long ago as 1854, Henry David Thoreau prescribed a woodland existence as a remedy to civilization and its dissatisfactions, in his essay Walden: Or, Life in the Woods.
And, of course, the many and oft recited wise words of the Scottish father of the National Parks, John Muir, extol the countless virtues of immersing oneself in the natural world. Google “John Muir quotes”, and you’ll be treated to a smorgasbord of pithy and inspirational snippets, (like the one entitling this blog) so many, in fact, that I have trouble selecting the most appropriate, and indeed this whole blog could just be an anthology of “Muir-isms”, but here are a couple for starters:
“Everybody needs beauty...places to play in and pray in, where nature may heal and cheer and give strength to the body and soul alike.”
“Climb the mountains and get their good tidings. Nature's peace will flow into you as sunshine flows into trees. The winds will blow their own freshness into you, and the storms their energy, while cares will drop away from you like the leaves of Autumn.”
Now, if you’re like me, and a bit of a hippy at heart, these words resonate with truth. But even if you’re a bit of a cynic, there’s no getting away from the fact that modern-life is full of modern-life pressures – we all feel them, even if our individual experience differs from that of our neighbour. The pressure to succeed at school and at work; to earn more; to be happy; to have accomplished, talented children; to have a show-home; to prepare healthy, wholesome meals for your loved ones; to drive a smart car; to go on fabulous holidays; to post photos of your perfect life on social media; to look beautiful and to be skinny…the list goes on and on, it’s never-ending. And we’re not helped by the well-documented disconnect from nature felt by the majority of the western world. We’ve forgotten our roots. We’ve forgotten what it is to be at one with the natural world. We’ve forgotten that the human nervous system is both of nature and attuned to it. In short, we’ve forgotten that we ARE nature.
So it’s no wonder, that there’s a growing movement within science, health practitioners and nature conservationists, which aims to promote the essential, life-affirming power of nature. For example, researchers, primarily in Japan and South Korea, have established a robust body of scientific literature on the health benefits of spending time under the canopy of a living forest.
In Japan, this has manifested itself in the form of “Shinrin-yoku”, which means "taking in the forest atmosphere" or "forest bathing." It was developed as long ago as the 1980s by government officials at the Forest Agency of Japan and has become a cornerstone of preventive health care and healing in Japanese medicine. The theory? If a person simply spends time surrounded by trees, there are calming, rejuvenating and restorative benefits to be achieved, and not just psychological and spiritual, but physiological too.
The trick is to allow yourself to just be. Do nothing, and gain illumination. Just be with trees! It’s that simple. No hiking, no counting steps, no focus on a particular destination (unless that destination is improved physical and mental well-being!). You can sit or meander, but the point is to relax rather than accomplish anything. If you like, be a human being, rather than a human doing.
But it’s not all hippy, mumbo-jumbo. From 2004 to 2012, Japanese officials spent about $4 million dollars studying the physiological and psychological effects of forest bathing. As part of this research, the activity of human natural killer (NK) cells in the immune system before and after exposure to the woods was measured. These cells provide rapid responses to viral-infected cells and respond to tumour formation, and are therefore associated with immune system health and cancer prevention. Subjects showed significant increases in NK cell activity in the week after a forest visit, and positive effects lasted a month following each weekend in the woods. Researchers claim this is due to various essential oils, generally called phytoncide, found in wood, plants, and some fruit and vegetables, which trees emit to protect themselves from germs and insects. Forest air doesn’t just feel fresher and better—inhaling phytoncide seems to actually improve immune system function. In other words, being in nature made subjects, physiologically, less wired.
Trees soothe the spirit too. A study on forest bathing’s psychological effects surveyed 498 healthy volunteers, twice in a forest and twice in control environments. The subjects showed significantly reduced hostility and depression scores, coupled with increased liveliness, after exposure to trees. The subjects were more rested and less inclined to stress after a forest bath. “Accordingly,” the researchers wrote, “forest environments can be viewed as therapeutic landscapes.” Forest bathing can even promote better sleep.
And you don’t even need to access wild forests - city dwellers can benefit from the effects of trees with just a visit to the park. Brief exposure to greenery in urban environments can relieve stress levels, and experts have recommended “doses of nature” as part of treatment of attention disorders in children. What all of this evidence suggests is we don’t seem to need a lot of exposure to gain from nature—but regular contact appears to improve our immune system function and our wellbeing.
We have always known this intuitively, as Mr Muir so eloquently states “There is a love of wild nature in everybody, an ancient mother-love showing itself whether recognized or no, and however covered by cares and duties.” And whilst it’s a shame that the state of human-kind in the “civilised” west has got to the point where we need this spelling out to us, this growing “nature as therapy” movement is surely something to be applauded and supported.
Still unconvinced? Well, maybe Mr Muir, the master of human psychology and the benefits nature can bring, will convince you at last, with this gem which leaves a tingle down my spine and a smile in my heart:
“The sun shines not on us but in us. The rivers flow not past, but through us. Thrilling, tingling, vibrating every fibre and cell of the substance of our bodies, making them glide and sing. The trees wave and the flowers bloom in our bodies as well as our souls, and every bird song, wind song, and tremendous storm song of the rocks in the heart of the mountains is our song, our very own, and sings our love.”