Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
Review
. 2017 Jul 28;14(8):851.
doi: 10.3390/ijerph14080851.

Shinrin-Yoku (Forest Bathing) and Nature Therapy: A State-of-the-Art Review

Margaret M Hansen  1 , Reo Jones  2 , Kirsten Tocchini  3
Affiliations
Review

Shinrin-Yoku (Forest Bathing) and Nature Therapy: A State-of-the-Art Review

Margaret M Hansen et al. Int J Environ Res Public Health. .

Abstract

Background: Current literature supports the comprehensive health benefits of exposure to nature and green environments on human systems. The aim of this state-of-the-art review is to elucidate empirical research conducted on the physiological and psychological effects of Shinrin-Yoku (or Forest Bathing) in transcontinental Japan and China. Furthermore, we aim to encourage healthcare professionals to conduct longitudinal research in Western cultures regarding the clinically therapeutic effects of Shinrin-Yoku and, for healthcare providers/students to consider practicing Shinrin-Yoku to decrease undue stress and potential burnout.

Methods: A thorough review was conducted to identify research published with an initial open date range and then narrowing the collection to include papers published from 2007 to 2017. Electronic databases (PubMed, PubMed Central, CINAHL, PsycINFO and Scopus) and snowball references were used to cull papers that evaluated the use of Shinrin-Yoku for various populations in diverse settings.

Results: From the 127 papers initially culled using the Boolean phrases: "Shinrin-yoku" AND/OR "forest bathing" AND/OR "nature therapy", 64 studies met the inclusion criteria and were included in this summary review and then divided into "physiological," "psychological," "sensory metrics" and "frameworks" sub-groups.

Conclusions: Human health benefits associated with the immersion in nature continue to be currently researched. Longitudinal research, conducted worldwide, is needed to produce new evidence of the relationships associated with Shinrin-Yoku and clinical therapeutic effects. Nature therapy as a health-promotion method and potential universal health model is implicated for the reduction of reported modern-day "stress-state" and "technostress.".

Keywords: Shinrin-Yoku; forest bathing; integrative medicine; nature therapy.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare no conflict of interest.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Concept of nature therapy [9]. Permission to publish from Yoshifumi Miyasaki.
Figure 2
Figure 2
Literature search process.
Figure 3
Figure 3
Walking in nature. Permission to publish from CiCi Lee.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

    1. Bowler D.E., Buyung-Ali L.M., Knight T.M., Pullin A.S. A systematic review of evidence for the added benefits to health of exposure to natural environments. BMC Public Health. 2010;10:456. doi: 10.1186/1471-2458-10-456. - DOI - PMC - PubMed
    1. Chun M.H., Chang M.C., Lee S. The effects of forest therapy on depression and anxiety in patients with chronic stroke. Int. J. Neurosci. 2017;127:199–203. doi: 10.3109/00207454.2016.1170015. - DOI - PubMed
    1. Han J., Choi H., Jeon Y., Yoon C., Woo J., Kim W. The Effects of Forest Therapy on Coping with Chronic Widespread Pain: Physiological and Psychological Differences between Participants in a Forest Therapy Program and a Control Group. Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health. 2016;13:255. doi: 10.3390/ijerph13030255. - DOI - PMC - PubMed
    1. . Shinrin Yoku. [(accessed on 21 July 2017)]; Available online: http://www.shinrin-yoku.org/shinrin-yoku.html.
    1. Williams F. This Is Your Brain on Nature. Natl. Geogr. 2016:229.