No.on medicines but walks in the green. Today in Canada doctors can, instead of more traditional therapies, prescribe forest therapy, or diving into nature: in the form of free passes to the wonderful national parks. The initiative The PaRx (Park Prescriptions), inaugurated in British Columbia, has already been extended to other Canadian provinces. “Nature should be considered the fourth pillar of healthSaid Dr. Melissa Lem, promoter of the project. “Important as well as diet, exercise and good sleep for a correct lifestyle “. The standard recommendation for the program is two hours of nature per week, lasting no less than 20 minutes. There are many pathologies for which they are prescribed, from diabetes to depression.
From Japan to Scotland, to Italy
The benefits of forest air on our health have already been confirmed by science. The first to study them were the Japanese: the bath in the forest, or “Shinrin-Yoku” it has been a fairly common practice in the Land of the Rising Sun since the 1980s, and has been the subject of in-depth investigation for decades. But also in Scotland and Sweden, for example, forest therapy is suggested to some people with depression, thus reducing the use of psychotropic drugs. The principles of this method have been studied in Italy by the CNR, together with the Italian Alpine Club (they are collected in Forestry therapy, edited by Federico Meneguzzo and Francesca ZabiniItalian Alpine Club publisher) and there is aItalian association of forest medicine.
Many blessings for everyone
First of all, the Volatile Organic Compounds (VOCs) released by the trees have an antioxidant, anti-inflammatory and balsamic action on the respiratory tract. With positive effects also on cardiovascular, endocrine and immune systems; and also on the brain. Strolling in a wood is essentially the same as having a session of aromatherapy very powerful and all natural. Not only: also acoustic and visual sensory stimuli of the forest contribute to general relaxation because they are simple, repetitive and easy to interpret without too much cognitive effort.
And we want to forget the well-being that gives the touch? Contact with wood also reduces brain activity and lowers the level of stress hormones. As for noises, birdsong, rustling of leaves and the murmur of water from streams and waterfalls produce the same effect as a meditation.
When and where to do forestry therapy
Not all woods are the same: the greatest concentration of VOCs is breathed in the woods of conifers, among black, wild and maritime pines, or red and white firs, but also in beech, chestnut and oak woods. While the best times to enjoy it are the early afternoon and the first light of dawn.
Without haste and without stress
Christine Brandt, certified forest therapy guide, photographed in William O’Brien State Park, USA (Photo By Jerry Holt / Star Tribune via Getty Images)
First of all, you don’t have to struggle: the walk, about 3-4 kilometers, must be a pleasure. But it’s also okay to simply stay in a wooded area for a long time. There are particularly suitable places. As the Levi Molinari Refuge where the first experimental station in the Alps of therapy forest. Or the Breath park in Fai della Paganella, with paths suitable for strollers. Or theOasis Zegna, in Val Sessera, with guided forest bathing walks. Or La Malin-Mill, forest therapy station in Friuli Venezia Giulia, with courses dedicated to asthmatic children and cancer patients. In the absence of anything better, you can also be satisfied with an urban park. Or go for orthotherapy.