City living has a lot going for it: we’re spoiled with 24-hour transport, endless things to do and a different takeaway for every day of the week. But the benefits could come at a cost to our physical and mental health. Over-pollution is at crisis point – high CO2 levels have been shown to have scarily detrimental effects on our skin, heart, lungs and brain – and our busy tech-fuelled lives have recently forced the World Health Organisation to officially recognise burn-out as A Thing; something’s got to give.
Enter: nature. A study last year found that city dwellers showed a marked improvement in wellbeing after being outside, seeing sky, trees and hearing birdsong, with positive effects continuing for hours later. So, could this year’s wacky forest bathing fad (Kate Middleton’s a fan, you know) actually be onto something?
Well, yes. The Japanese have long known that a meditative few hours under a leaf canopy has lasting benefits and have practised the technique, known as shinrin-yoku, for forty years as a preventative therapy to ward off disease. Seen as a way to awaken the dialogue between ourselves and the natural world and provide a deep sense of grounding and connection to the earth, forest bathing done properly is not just a walk in the park. The latest research has shown that we need two hours’ minimum per week immersed in the forest atmosphere, but the value of going wild with the wildlife is convincing. Dr Lucy Hethrington is a regular visitor to Armathwaite Hall Hotel & Spa in the Lake District which offers a forest bathing package. She says, “There is nothing like getting back to nature for your mental and physical wellbeing. It’s less to do with exercise and more to do with unwinding and connecting with nature to improve your health. For people living busy, stressed city lives, this is even more important. Not only can it reduce stress and high blood pressure but a recent study shows that exposure to green space reduces the risk of type 2 diabetes, cardiovascular disease and premature death.”
The evidence is so compelling that NHS Shetland have begun to issue ‘nature prescriptions’ to tackle serious conditions like diabetes and heart disease, but even for people without a discernible health issue, it just ‘makes you feel better,’ as singer Charlotte Church writes in a Guardian column. She bathes in the forest at the end of her garden at dawn each day and says: ‘It has changed my life.’
We’re sold. But what do you actually do?
Over at The Spread Eagle Hotel & Spa, teacher Helena Skoog was born and raised in the forests of Sweden and has spent the past four years off-grid in ancient forestry, so it’s fair to say she knows a thing or two about it. She explains, “For those not familiar, forest bathing simply means slowing down and becoming totally immersed in the forest atmosphere. In our chaotic lives the need to disconnect from the digital world and reconnect with the natural world has never been so strong. Forest bathing is a natural way to calm your senses by breathing in the wood-fresh mossy-cool air and allowing your body and mind to draw on the therapeutic power of nature to reduce stress and impart you with a profound sense of peace.”
But for some, the forest atmosphere can feel claustrophobic, or too vast, or simply too inaccessible to reap the natural rewards that we urbanites need so badly. Try outdoor swimming, says Pippa Best of Soul Sea Blessings website which shares films of the sea every day to soothe the mind: “When we’re feeling hemmed in by the city, the thought of diving into a crisp blue sea can feel like an impossible dream. But when we can’t escape to the sea, we can recreate some of the sea’s benefits while stuck in the city: head to your local outdoor lido for a refreshing dip and taste of cold-water immersion. A cold swim stimulates our circulation, releases feel-good endorphins, reminds us of our courage and resilience, and can help to manage anxiety.”
Indeed, outdoor swimming has exploded in popularity with millennial women over the last few years, and once we think back to the link between stress, anxiety and environmental therapies it’s easy to see why. Open swimming provides a truly immersive experience with the natural world and we really have gone wild for it, with notable fans including Kate Moss, the writer Dolly Alderton and over 70,000 current members of the Outdoor Swimming Society compared to mere hundreds two years ago, but swimming lanes at the council-run lido still earns you a gold star in the self-care stakes. Outdoor swimming in most settings harnesses many of the same benefits as forest bathing after all, offering an escape from noise and air pollution, unbridled sky views, a much-needed digital detox and possibly even a spot of birdsong or trees to really hammer home that nature bathing vibe; you don’t necessarily need to journey up the Northern Line to the Ladies Pond to get your fix.
Additionally, experts believe that the very act of swimming will provide extra mental health advantages. “By focussing on swimming mindfully stroke by stroke we can naturally begin to enter a relaxed, meditative state which allows the nervous system to restore and repair,” says Counselling Psychologist and Psychotherapist Natalie Cawley of PrinciplePsych. “Similarly, mindful breathing happens naturally during swimming and this is often cited as a way of reducing anxiety, as well as the stress hormone cortisol.” No wonder we feel so refreshed after a dip.
Bathing then, whether in a forest or a waterier setting, seems an important tool for our ‘always-on’ generation that we should be building into our self-care routine. Next time those tell-tale burn-out signs start to appear try skipping the usual after-work drinks or de-stressing massage and bask in the natural wonder of the great outdoors instead. We’ll see you there.
