Forest Bathing Herbal Bath Mud

When humans breathe phytoncides in, they can produce many fabulous benefits inside the body. Some of the responses discovered by science include:

• Immune response: a 2-hour walk in the forest increases NK cell activity that can last for days
• Anti-inflammatory: common forest terpenes temper inflammation and reduce oxidative stress
• Nervous system: forest air creates a relaxation response and lowers nervous system activity
• Mood enhancing: exposure to forest air reduces cortisol levels and β-pinene has antidepressive properties
• Sleep: phytoncides like α-pinene enhance sleep
• Blood glucose: exposure to VOCs can reduce blood glucose levels

Visiting forests on a relatively regular basis can be a good health-promoting practice, since, by reducing stress levels and boosting immune function, it seems capable of diminishing the incidence of stress-related and lifestyle-induced illnesses, varying from cardiovascular, respiratory, or metabolic diseases to neuropsychiatric conditions and, possibly, even cancer.