Excerpts from Dr. John Douillard with referenced research.

You know I like nature and believe nature is healing, physically and mentally. This month I am taking an article by Dr. John Douillard and highlighting research back benefits supporting my belief and hoping to encourage you to step outside. You will discover that you don't have to take a trip to get the benefits, metro green spaces can have similar effects on the mind and body. And spoiler alert, it works for adults and kids!

Benefits of Nature

• Improved immune system function through an increase in natural killer cells

• Improved cardiovascular health, including a decrease in the risk for hypertension and coronary artery disease

• Boosted respiratory system to help ward off allergies and respiratory disease

• Decreased mood disorders, depression, anxiety, and stress

• Enhanced mental relaxation, and reduced symptoms of attention deficit hyperactivity disorder

• Feelings of awe and increased gratitude and selflessness

Forest Bathing is Beneficial All Year Round

Science shows us that getting outside can help boost immunity, mood, cardiovascular, and so much more! Plus, time outside in every season helps you build a better microbiome. (Dr. John Douillard, DC, CAP) December 2021

Fight Stress with Trees

Studies find that being in nature has a specific effect on our fight-or-flight nervous system. In a meta analysis of 971 studies on forest bathing, only two did not show lower levels of cortisol (stress hormone). All the rest showed a significant reduction in stress hormone, which is linked to most age-related and degenerative health concerns.

In another review of some 52 studies, scientific data link being in nature to changes in brainwave activity, autonomic nervous system stress, endocrine (hormonal) activity, immune health, and mood, which leads researchers to conclude that nature therapy, as it is called in the West, will play an increasingly important role in preventative medicine, stress reduction, and technostress in the future.

Nature Provides

You know that good feeling... you step out of the car and the fresh mountain air hits you. Or, you walk by a lake and feel the damp cool breeze. The ocean breeze? Nature walking, forest bathing, hiking, and just being in the wilderness or your neighborhood park have been shown to offer numerous health and psychological benefits.

But how much time is needed in the woods to reap the rewards, and when is the best time to get into nature?

In a 2018 study published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, researchers concluded that the airborne bacteria we breathe every day shift dramatically from one season to the next. The air around freshwater, cropland, and urban environments had more abundant bacteria in summer, while marine and forest environments had more abundant bacteria in winter.

The microbes we breathe in natural environments are supporting seasonal inoculation of our guts with the right microbes for the right season.

The takeaway: Getting into nature as much as possible will benefit your gut health, and in turn your mood, immunity, and so much more!

How Much Time Do We Need in Nature?

The science on how much time in nature is beneficial for our microbiomes is evolving.

In a 2020 Cornell University study on college students, published in Frontiers in Psychology, researchers concluded that as little as 10 minutes a day sitting or walking by a tree, a flower planter, or in the woods delivered measurable changes in mental health, including reduced levels of stress, anxiety, and depression. Spending between 10 to 50 minutes outside, in natural spaces, was the most effective in improving mood, focus, and physiological markers, like blood pressure and heart rate.

An even more recent study, a meta analysis of 50 articles on nature therapy published this year in the journal Population Health, shows that just gardening or exercising outside in nature for 20 to 90 minutes improves mood, reduces anxiety, and boosts positive emotions.

Can't get outside that much?

A 2018 study, published in the journal Environmental Research, researchers collected data from more than 140 studies and more than 290 million adults from all over the world and measured their health and the amount of exposure to greenspace they had. Across the board, populations with more access to greenspace were more likely to report good overall health while also showing a lower risk of premature death, diabetes, cardiovascular disease, pre-term births, stress, and high blood pressure.

How About Kids?

In a more recent study, published this year in the journal Nature Sustainability, researchers reported similar benefits in children who were more regularly exposed to woodlands. In this study, more than 3,500 kids from ages 9 to 15 were evaluated for cognitive, emotional, and behavioral issues and their access to woodlands. Living in proximity to woodlands was linked to better cognitive development and a whopping 16 percent lower risk of emotional or behavioral problems.

SO GET OUTSIDE! Look, Feel, Breath and take in the natural healing power.