How Trees Can make You Happier?
Escaping into nature has always been a source of comfort for many. Getting away from the chaos of everyday life to calm one’s mind and be present in the moment, whether it’s watching the leaves dance in the wind, feeling the coolness of a breeze, or the warmth of the sun on my face.
Trees are good for our mental well-being
When it comes to anxiety and depression, those who walk for 15 minutes in a forest have been shown to experience fewer symptoms (and more energy!) Than those who walk in an urban landscape. Spending time in the forest has also been shown to increase the ability to recover from stress.
If we observe the levels of cortisol and adrenaline, these famous indicators of stress, we realize that they also decrease when spending time in the forest! Walking in a forest environment rather than an urban setting can decrease cortisol levels. Since stress also weakens our immune systems, the stress reduction benefits of forests are all the greater, and we all need them right now.
Trees are good for our physical health
Exposure to forests also stimulates our immune system. When we breathe the fresh air, it is as if we are participating in a natural aromatherapy session. Trees release chemicals into the air called phytoncides which they use to protect themselves from insects. When we breathe in these phytoncides, our body responds by increasing the number and activity of a specific type of white blood cell: natural killer cells (or NK cells). These cells can kill other cells infected with a tumor or virus in our body. It was shown that after a forest bathing stay of only three days and two nights, participants exhibited increased NK cell activity for more than 30 days after returning home!
What is even more relevant today is how forests can truly improve our respiratory function. According to the World Health Organization, air pollution now kills more than seven million people each year. While there has been a link between people living in polluted areas and higher COVID-19 death rates, ensuring that our urban environments contain enough trees to purify our air does not need to be. Never been more important.
This close relationship between trees and our physical health first emerged in the United States between 1990 and 2007, when 15 states tracked disease rates while the emerald ash borer, after decimating more than a million trees, has been linked to more than 6,000 human deaths related to disease of the respiratory system and more than 15,000 deaths associated with heart disease. In terms of impacts on human health, trees have also been shown to be much more important in urban areas than in rural areas because of their proximity to the population and the benefits they bring in removing pollution from the environment. Air by the physical interception of particulate matter and the absorption of gases through their sheets.
Get a prescription from the forest
You might be wondering now: if trees are so good for me, how long should I be in the forest, or among the trees? If it were up to me, I would quote from Henry David Thoreau: “I am of the opinion that I cannot maintain my health and my spirits unless I spend at least four hours a day and usually more loitering around. Through woods, hills and fields, totally free of material concern. “”
Since the majority of us cannot usually break free for four hours at a time regularly, it has been established that a “nature pill” corresponding to a minimum 20 to 30-minute dose at least three times a week in a place where you feel a connection with nature is beneficial.
For all of these reasons and more, I try to incorporate interactions with my tree friends into my daily practices, whether it’s looking through my veranda window, on my commute to work, visiting my favorite willows in the arboretum in my town, or if I’m very lucky, on a long hike or camping trip deep in the woods. I pay tribute to them and thank them every day for all they do for us, and when no one is looking I hug them. I know they are there for me, just like I am there for them.
Prime Tree Service Company, located in Lodi, specializing in the trimming, modeling, root removal, tree cutting, tree removal, tree planting, and professional garden design of all kinds of trees Refurbished.
Prime Tree Service Company can help you create a beautiful, healthy, and safe outdoor living environment. In addition, cutting trees, moving trees, planting trees and professional garden design will help protect the value of your property.
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