Monday, May 22, 2017

Shinrin-Yoku - Health Benefits of Walking Outside

http://www.oprah.com/spirit/shinrin-yoku-health-benefits-of-walking-outside

"By combining mindfulness and spending time in nature—two activities that have restorative properties on their own—shinrin-yoku can yield significant health advantages: A study conducted across 24 forests in Japan found that when people strolled in a wooded area, their levels of the stress hormone cortisol plummeted almost 16 percent more than when they walked in an urban environment. And the effects were quickly apparent: Subjects' blood pressure showed improvement after about 15 minutes of the practice. But one of the biggest benefits may come from breathing in chemicals called phytoncides, emitted by trees and plants. Women who logged two to four hours in a forest on two consecutive days saw a nearly 40 percent surge in the activity of cancer-fighting white blood cells, according to one study. "

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