Forest Bathing scientifically proven!

Check out this article from the World Economic Forum - the Japanese practice of Forest Bathing is now proven to lower heart rate and blood pressure, reduce stress hormone production, boost the immune system, and improve overall feelings of wellbeing.

Fletcher Moss Gardens, Didbsury

Trees soothe the spirit too. A study on forest bathing’s psychological effectssurveyed 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. “Accordingly,” the researchers wrote, “forest environments can be viewed as therapeutic landscapes.”

So we can all benefit from a regular 'dose of nature' as part of our cultivation of a healthy lifestyle, according to this article even brief expsoure to green spaces can reduce stress levels, so why not build in a route to work or to the shops that takes you through your local parks, cycle along the fallowfield loop, put a chair or a bench in your garden in a sunny spot or go for a morning or evening walk in one of Manchesters green spaces.