Stress is inevitable. It comes it various forms. Some sources are controllable but some are beyond our control. Chronic stress has been proven to kill us. It depresses our immune system, damages our cardiovascular system by raising our heart rate and blood pressure, as well as, cholesterol, blood glucose and triglycerides. Stress is also a trigger for unhealthy habits like vices, eating disorders and the like. Stress can cause cancer and other diseases.
Another type of stress that we may not perceive as one is technostress. In 1984, the word technostress was coined to describe unhealthy behavior towards new technology. Technology and the gadgets we use on a daily basis are dynamic. They keep upgrading and there is always something new. Our usage of gadgets and other forms of technology such as constant checking, having the need to always feel connected, to update and be updated is stressful whether we are aware or not. Symptoms of technostress include headache, eyestrain, neck pain, fatigue, anxiety, depression, sleep problems, mood alterations, negative emotions among others. In times like this, your stress hormones are produced and activated. This puts you in a vulnerable state of having oxidative stress. A state wherein your body produces toxic free radicals that damage cells.
Cancer is characterized by damaged or malfunctioning cells that have mutated to form tumors that are cancerous. There are many treatment modalities that modern science has given us to treat cancer. However, let us not discount the fact that nature has healing powers too. While this is in no way a substitute for sound medical treatment, it wouldn’t hurt to add this to your protocol in cancer prevention, management or recovery.
Since 2004, Shinrin-yoku or forest bathing and its effect on human health has been studied in Japan by Qing Li and team. They founded Forest Medicine, a new medical science that belongs to alternative, environmental and preventive medicine. Shinrin is a Japanese word that means forest and yoku means bath. It is a traditional practice of visiting the forest, breathing fresh air and basically just being surrounded by nature. Connecting with it through our senses. You don’t even have to be doing anything like walking or exercising.
One of the astounding discoveries about the impact of forest bathing on health is the increase in the production of our immune system’s natural killer cells or NK cells. These white blood cells are responsible for killing viruses and bacteria in the body including the destruction of cancer cells. The reason why we get infections like colds and develop cancer is a weakened immune system. Stress weakens the immune system due to the production of stress hormones like cortisol. During forest bathing, stress hormones drop, thereby boosting the immune system.
Fortunate are those who live in places where they have an abundance of trees and forest. But what about those who live in highly urbanized locations? You don’t need to live in the forest. You only need to visit places where trees and plants are plentiful at least once a month. Where the air is fresher than the concrete jungle that you live in.
Qing Li and colleagues’ research on the effects of forest environment (Shinrin- yoku/forest bathing) on health promotion and disease prevention - the establishment of “Forest Medicine” showed that the positive effects of going on a trip to the forest lasted for seven to 30 days. This resulted in the increased production of not only natural killer cells but also perforin, GRN and GrA/B. All of which are anti-cancer proteins.
If you really have no access to abundant greenery, you can still benefit from vaporizing wood essential oils or phytoncides. Another study on the effect of phytoncide from trees on human natural killer cell function by Qing Li et al showed that phytoncides significantly enhanced the activity of natural killer cells. It may not have increased the production of natural killer cells like that from forest bathing, but it has made the natural killer cells more robust. The study was done on male participants in an urban hotel room for three nights using phytoncides from hinoki cypress stem oil and humidifier. Blood and urine samples were taken daily to analyze natural killer cells activity, as well as, stress hormones that have significantly decreased during the study.
Healing comes in many ways, consider the power of nature through forest bathing and wood essential oils to improve immunity and fight cancer and other infections.