Tree Feature: It’s Official! Woods are good for you!
We love a tree story at PropertySurveying and this month we are happy to announce that science has proved what we all knew intuitively: that woodlands are good for you. Government quango Natural England, carried out a survey in April-June 2020 in which 85% of adults in England stated being in nature makes them happy, but Japanese Dr Qing Li and his research team at the Nippon Medical School have actually proved that spending time in woodlands has genuine and widespread medical benefits.
The Research
Japan has been investing in research into the benefits of ‘Shinrin-yoku’ (forest bathing, or, basically, immersing yourself in the peace of a woodland setting) for four decades. There are now 70 designated ‘healing forests’ across Japan. Work to understand the benefits of spending time in woodland is being taken up across the world, Dr Li’s research confirms that 50% of the benefits come from the composition of forest air. While this may be partly the additional oxygen trees release, trees also expel phytoncides, known as VOCs (volatile organic compounds, or essential oils) which are natural and antimicrobial, which help them fight disease from organisms and insects. Dr Li and his team have proved that these chemicals boost human immune systems.
Areas positively affected in humans include:
- Reduction in stress
- Improved concentration, memory and creativity
- Improved sleep
- Regulation of heart rate and blood pressure
- Regulation of metabolism (potentially leading to weight loss)
- Lowering of blood-sugar levels
- Improved mood and immune response
- Improved pain thresholds
- Improved energy levels
In addition, the phytoncides may potentially support recovery from depression. Excitingly, research suggests that time spent in woodland increases the body’s NK cells aiding the fight against cancer, alongside inflammatory conditions such as asthma, emphysema and bronchitis.
Interestingly, Italian statistics from the Covid-19 pandemic confirmed these findings. Even accounting for population density, there were fewer and less severe cases of covid-19 where there were more trees per capita.
In Japan, Shinrin-yoku has been given the status of a clinical therapy which may be prescribed by doctors.
UK’s National Trust: their findings
The National Trust, following growing amounts research on Shinrin-yoku, including that conducted by the University of Derby, commissioned a study of its own. This found that listening to birdsong and nature experienced live had more impact than those sounds on an app.
The National Trust suggests that while a two-hour walk is ideal, ‘even just 10 minutes in nature can help you to feel refreshed.’ Its online guide on how to make the most of time in forests and woodland recommends the following:
- Choose a quiet time of day
- Turn off digital devices
- Move slowly, or take time to sit still and allow wildlife to draw nearer
- Listen to your breathing, taking time to steady and ready yourself
- Use the senses to absorb detail: what can you see, hear, feel, smell?
- Stay as long as you feel comfortable
The Forest Bathing Institute (TFBI)
The UK’s Forest Bathing Institute was officially founded in 2018 after a two-year gestation. Its aim is to promote the proper use of research findings here in the UK and it is working with over 40 universities, here and abroad, to train guides, and expand recognition and use of Shinrin-yoku to help people. In 2020, Dame Judi Dench became its patron and in 2023, it was awarded the recognition of Top Innovator by the World Economic Forum.
Post Script to the Sherwood Forest Erroneous Fellings
Following our story in April, a PropertySurveying author was chatting with a tree specialist and relayed the story of the accidental felling of broadleaved trees. In the incident, a contractor felled a number of native trees instead of the intended conifers which had been planted post-war to stabilise areas of the forest. Although the contractor was fined, the tree specialist’s immediate response was that the profit from the felled hardwood would have far outstripped the fine. A subsequent chat with a Tree Preservation Officer confirmed the cynicism. So, should erroneous, read ‘felonious’? It must be stated, though, that the local council did investigate the matter and judged it to be an accident.
On the plus side, although it has taken nearly two years to prosecute an illegal felling in North Devon, the publicity from the successful prosecution has led to a huge rise in applications for work to trees there.
Sometimes you just have to kill an admiral ‘pour encourager les autres’ (Voltaire).