Why Do Trees Make You Happy?
Seek the company of trees because they benefit you physically and mentally, although we still do not know all their secrets. Forest baths are a wonderful way to do it.
Some people, when we are in the middle of a forest, we feel that the trees are our relatives, wise grandparents or, at least, kind beings who hide a multitude of secrets.
It does not seem like a rational thought, but sometimes the feelings are more correct. Science, in fact, is getting closer to understanding this emotion that is difficult to explain in words.
In a recent study conducted at the University of Chiba in Japan, the effect of walking for 15 minutes through a forest or urban environment was compared . For this, groups of a dozen people were organized who walked through 52 places distributed throughout the country.
In all cases, as found by standardized tests, people who walked in the woods experienced less anxiety, aggressiveness, fatigue, confusion and depressive symptoms, and more vigor. And the effect of those forest baths was accentuated in the people who were most anxious before starting.
It’s not the green, it’s the trees
Researchers are looking for what specifically makes us happiest when walking in a forest.
In Poland, researchers came up with a super original study. A group of participants spent a quarter of an hour contemplating an urban forest in winter, with trees with straight trunks, without leaves and without shrubs or plants between them.
Another group of participants looked at an urban landscape of buildings and roads. The objective of the researchers was to see if an environment of trees but without the green color produced any effect.
What do you think that happened? The people who looked at the desolate gray and bare trees … felt better too. In the questionnaires they reflected more positive emotions and declared feeling more energetic than those who observed the urban scene.
The effects of trees on the body and soul
So the secret is not in the color. Many studies look at the aromatic compounds given off by trees and plants. The smell of the forest. And they are right because stimulating effects on immunity have been proven, for example. But there is something else, as other investigations detect a benefit even in the vision of a large photo of a forest.
Wherever the key is, the fact is that trees produce positive effects on the body and mind. These are some of the properties of walks in the forest or forest baths, supported by scientific studies:
- They stimulate the effectiveness of the immune system.
- They reduce inflammation.
- Lower blood pressure
- The levels of stress hormones such as cortisol decrease.
- The heart rate is reduced.
- They decrease the activity of the sympathetic nervous system (excitement) and increase that of the parasympathetic (relaxation).
The logical consequence is that where there are more trees, there is more health. A study in New York proved that neighbors who lived near trees felt healthier.
Another study, which brought together experts from the universities of Chicago (United States), Toronto (Canada) and Adelaide (Australia), concluded that every 10 more trees in a city block improves the perception of one’s health as earning $10,000 (8,900 euros) more per year or being 7 years younger. These studies are very American and seem excessively materialistic, but they are suggestive.
Trees reduce crime
Other research has looked at a more surprising effect: where there are more trees, there are fewer crimes. In Chicago, they observed the relationship between crimes and the number of trees in the area and discovered that for every 10% increase in the proportion of trees, robberies and robberies were reduced by 11.3% and assaults by 10%.
You may think that the trees could be in places with a higher economic level, less unemployment and better education, but the researchers were in charge of ruling out these variables and the effect of trees on crime was maintained. The trees and only the trees.
The next time someone asks for more police to counter crime in your city, you can also demand “more trees.”
The best of yourself
What do trees have to stop crime? Nobody knows. Perhaps where there are more trees there are also more people on the street, potential witnesses who help prevent crimes. Or perhaps, by his side is simply not the best place for a human being to bring out the worst in himself.
A study by the University of Brittany-South of France, led by Dr. Nicolas Guéguen, proved that after walking among trees, people feel more willing to collaborate and help.
If you have not yet felt the power of trees, I hope this article pushes you a little to seek their closeness and friendship.
