A Nottinghamshire-based business focused on getting people into the outdoors will be offering sessions of ‘forest bathing’ to adults starting this Wednesday (June 21).
Forest bathing, or ‘shinrin-yoku’ is a practice that emerged from Japan in the 1980s and is a means to relaxation attained by spending time outdoors in an actively observational way, taking in the smells, the sights and sounds in a methodical way.
It might seem far-fetched to some, but it is fast becoming an alternative to Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT) and other methods to treat mental health issues.
Get Lost in the Forest was started up in May 2023 by primary school teacher Heather Perry after she said she felt “disillusioned” with the strains of the job despite enjoying the work itself.
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“I had been a primary school teacher for nine years”, she said, “and whilst I still loved the teaching part, I'd become really disillusioned with the stress and pressure that came with it.
“So I decided to complete my Forest School Level Three Practitioner training and came up with the idea to set up a business based around Forest School, outdoor learning, and wellbeing. We opened in May 2023 and things are going well so far.”
The organisation started off by offering a forest school where children and adults could take part in building fires, making dens and other outdoor activities. Storytime sessions also exist, where children can listen to tales in an outdoor environment.
An important facet to the initiative is to abstain from using modern technology. According to Ms Perry: “Not being focused on technology or the next thing that's happening should reduce the stress that people feel.
“The world is so fast-paced that an event focused purely on slowing down and feeling rather than thinking should also help with this.”
Dr Kirsten McEwan, an associate professor of health and wellbeing at the University of Derby has long been an advocate for forest bathing and the benefits which it can bring to the wider public.
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“What research has shown is that only 40 percent of patients have benefitted from CBT. A lot of patients might say ‘I get the logic but I don’t feel any different’. Twenty years of evidence has been building up to support forest bathing to the point that it’s now available in 25 hospitals in the UK, and it’s spread to other countries as well.
“There are plenty of papers from Japan and South Korea about how forest bathing can improve cardiovascular health, immune system function and a lowering in stress hormones like cortisol and increase the presence of anti-cancer proteins and improve blood pressure.”
A randomised trial took place in 2021 where a group experienced either two hours of forest bathing or two hours of compassionate mind training indoors, a more well-established form of therapy.
“We had expected that they would perform similarly with regards to benefits to people’s cardiovascular health and that’s what we found. Both groups experienced a lowering in their heart rate and noted improvements in their sense of wellbeing and relaxation.”
As a result of this trial, forest bathing became available as a social prescription across Surrey. The National Academy for Social Prescribing (NASP) were awarded seven sites and a small level of funding to see whether it could help people's wellbeing and activity levels across the UK.
“We’ve got data that it really improved people’s mental health and reduced their levels of anxiety by about 45 percent after just one forest bathing session. There is good evidence to state that it helps patients who are experiencing depression or anxiety as well.
According to Heather, she says that forest bathing is “something anyone can do”, adding “but I think it's having the confidence to go out and do it that I'm trying to help people with.”
‘Get Lost in the Moment’, the inaugural forest bathing session run by Get Lost in the Forest will be held on June 21 at Bulwell Woods, near the fishponds on Blenheim Lane.
Tickets cost £15 in advance, or £20 nearer the time and can be booked online at https://bookwhen.com/getlostintheforest#focus=ev-sfkh-20230620130000
