Discussion: Forest "bathing"

An article in today's NYTimes about the health benefits of spending time amongst the trees. The idea is to really maximize your exposure to the forest. The Japanese call it "forest bathing," and as orienteers I'm sure we can all relate to that term right now:

...scientists...chalk it up to phytoncides, the airborne chemicals that plants emit to protect them from rot and insects and which also seem to benefit humans. One study...[was] in Japan, where visiting nature parks for therapeutic effect has become a popular practice called “Shinrin-yoku,” or “forest bathing.” ...The scientists found that being among plants produced “lower concentrations of cortisol, lower pulse rate, and lower blood pressure,” [In addition visiting] forests seems to raise levels of white blood cells, [and] over two days [saw] a 50-percent spike in levels of [these] natural killer cells...

that being among plants produced “lower concentrations of cortisol, lower pulse rate, and lower blood pressure,”

I wanna get me some of these plants. Are these the same plants they sell in British Columbia by any chance?

Those I know who ran at WOC in Japan experienced an *increase* in heart rate and blood pressure due to the very large spiders all over the forest.

Bathing in Missouri forests this time of year is a good way to get a rash on your privates.

does that require forests to be green? Ours are mostly brown...

Do cacti emit phytoncides? And then the question is whether the density of plants in the Sonoran Desert is enough to make a difference... It certainly doesn't relax me in quite the same way that a nice pine or oak forest does, but maybe my white blood cells would argue differently. ;-)

I can't say I'm ever relaxed when in a forest.... Flat out racing yes, but relaxed no :)

Seems similar to the USA-originated "nature deficit disorder" allegedly being suffered by the children of the 21th century.

I have a black belt in Shinrinyoku-do. ;)