If someone told you that one of the healthiest things you can do for yourself is to go to the woods and take a bath, you’d likely dismiss it as another health fad, picturing a “glamping” style outdoor spa with claw-foot tubs artfully arranged in a bucolic setting that it takes half a day to reach by donkey. You’d be wrong (although such a place probably exists somewhere on this planet). 

Today, doctors and health experts are telling their patients about the health benefits of the Japanese practice of shinrin-yoku, also known as forest, or nature, bathing. According to the National Institutes of Health, the term shinrin-yoku—which roughly translates to “making contact with and taking in the atmosphere of the forest,” was coined by the Japanese Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry, and Fisheries in 1982. Simply put, forest bathing is spending time in nature—breathing in fresh air, soaking up the calm, and appreciating the meditative state it induces.

Beneficial for people of all ages and during all seasons, forest bathing has been proven to reduce stress hormone production, improve feelings of happiness, and free up creativity, as well as lower heart rate and blood pressure, improve focus in people with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder, boost the immune system, and accelerate recovery from illness. 

The natural environment’s healing power comes partly from the trees and plants, themselves; they produce airborne chemicals called phytoncides to protect themselves from insects. Phytoncides have antibacterial and antifungal qualities which help plants fight disease. When we breathe in these chemicals, they boost our immunity, and the effects can last anywhere from hours to days. Although one to two hours is ideal, being in a green space for even 20 minutes enhances your well-being.

How to practice forest bathing

You can practice shinrin-yoku at any time of the year, even in winter. In fact, winter is the best time to start: the trees with the most phytoncides are evergreen, specifically pine, spruce, and cedar trees. This means you don’t have to give up your green time when the snow falls, just find some coniferous trees.

Learn more about forest bathing at the Forest Bathing Central website. And click here for the Chicago Botanic Garden’s guide to starting a forest bathing practice. Your options aren’t limited to walking; there are many places throughout Chicago and the suburbs that offer paved trails easily navigated by wheelchair and walker (and are also easy on the feet and knees), including the Chicago Botanic Garden and the Cook County Forest preserves which have more than 100 miles of paved trails and more than 200 unpaved trails. Just check in advance to be sure the trail is paved. You can use this site, Trail Link, to search for all paved trails in the Chicago trail, or anywhere in the country; simply set the filter to show only paved results.