Today, more than ever, people want to know what they can do to keep healthy. Here are some important lessons I have learned from physicians, research, and history.
Over 2000 years ago the well-known Greek physician Hippocrates advised us, “Nature itself is the best physician.” Dr. Suzanne Bartlett Hackenmiller, an American physician, agrees. She suggests you “Grab a Tree and Hold On” if your community is affected by a common virus.
Four reasons that Dr. Hackenmiller gives for heading outdoors, especially among trees, to stay healthy are:
- Vitamin D absorbed by your skin from the sun when outdoors helps to boost the immune system.
- Phytoncides, the organic compounds released into the air by trees that keep the trees healthy, also boost our immune system when we breathe them in.
- Micro-organisms, located in the soil, boost our immune system when we breathe in the forest air.
- Our mental health system is improved when exposed to nature. Time in forests decreases stress hormones and boosts the parasympathetic nervous system. This calming effect helps keep the immune system strong.
According to Dr. Richard Hobday, when the Influenza Pandemic hit the world in 1918, fresh air, sunlight, and improvised masks made a huge difference.
Hobday writes, “Put simply, medics found that severely ill flu patients nursed outdoors recovered better than those treated indoors. A combination of fresh air and sunlight seems to have prevented deaths among patients, and infections among medical staff. There is scientific support for this. Research shows that outdoor air is a natural disinfectant. Fresh air can kill the flu virus and other harmful germs. Equally, sunlight is germicidal and can kill the flu virus.”
Reading these articles has helped me to understand my own experience. As British Columbia’s first Certified Forest Therapy Guide with the Association of Nature and Forest Therapy (ANFT.earth), I began a deeper sensory connection to the forest in 2016. Before that, I worked in a hospital kitchen where I often got influenza or a cold that lasted for three weeks. Since connecting with the forest for more than three hours per week, I no longer get sick. There was a transition period where I would occasionally get mild flu symptoms for one to three days. I attribute my improved immune system to my forest therapy lifestyle and am deeply grateful to the forest for the medicine it gives me in this way and in many other ways.
While forest air is highly beneficial, it is not accessible to everyone. Even getting outside among city trees is more advisable than staying indoors 24 hours a day.
How do I stay healthy 12 months a year? Wash my hands, dress for the weather, and meander in forests regularly. I will take Dr. Hackenmiller’s advice and “grab a tree and hold on,” while respecting Hippocrates’s wisdom that “Nature itself is the best physician.” Not only will this keep me healthy, it will keep me happy too.
Words | Haida Bolton
Haida Bolton is British Columbia’s first certified forest therapy guide living in Pender Harbour. She is also an author and public speaker. For more information, visit her website naturewithhaida.ca.
