You’ve heard of forest bathing. Now try forest therapy.

10.10.2023 - 18:47 / nationalgeographic.com

A walk in the woods is not only good for you physically, it’s also good for you psychologically. Studies show time spent in nature reduces mental fatigue and irritability, cortisol levels, and stress.

“Nature is important for our health in so many ways,” says Melissa Lem, a Vancouver doctor and director of PaRx, a Canadian program encouraging doctors to prescribe time in nature for their patients. “We have a standardized recommendation that you spend at least two hours in nature each week and at least 20 minutes each time.”

No wonder many cities and parks are installing forest therapy trails—short, self-guided paths meant to immerse users in nature and engage all their senses. Designed by organizations such as the Association of Nature and Forest Therapy (ANFT) and Global Institute of Forest Therapy and Nature Connection (GIFT), more than a dozen trails have launched in the United States, Costa Rica, Slovenia, and Canada. Here’s why you should seek out a therapeutic walk.

Inspired by shinrin-yoku, the Japanese tradition of forest bathing, forest therapy trails are typically a mile or so long with little change in elevation, access to water, and a diversity of plants, including coniferous trees. Most are on unpaved dirt paths, an immediate visual and tactile clue that you’re not in an urban environment. “The main thing is that the trail should provide a relaxing experience,” says Amos Clifford, founder and CEO of ANFT. “The soundscape is also important, so next to freeways is not ideal.”

Certified trails have prompts (signs, brochures, or apps) that guide visitors to inhale deeply, listen to water, touch a tree, or close their eyes. “Typically in these spaces, people walk briskly as exercise or to identify things like birds, and their other senses often shut down,” says Ben Porchuk, founder of GIFT. “By closing your eyes, you enable the other senses to kick in.”

The trail guides also give users information about the surrounding environment and its effects on the body and mind. For instance, in Rouge Valley Park in Markham, Ontario, signs point out that pine trees emit phytoncides, essential oils which can have a calming effect, and that some evergreen needles—such as spruce, eastern hemlock, balsam, and pine—can be made into a tea rich in vitamin C.

(Learn what this skeptic discovered while forest bathing.)

Lem says she was initially skeptical about the difference between a forest therapy session and simply spending time outdoors. “I thought, I spend lots of time hiking, running. How much better can it be? But I was surprised at how relaxed and connected I felt,” she says. 

ANFT has certified 20 trails worldwide since 2018, from the U.S. to the U.K., Norway to New Zealand. In the past year, the