Pilar Martínez does not raise her head. The consequences of the covid have transformed her life, now marked by continuous hospitalizations and a loss of social activity that have led to a situation of emotional discomfort. The use of pharmacological treatment, anxiolytics or antidepressants, is typical in these cases, but there are alternatives to medications. And they are in nature, among the trees. They do not have contraindications or produce side effects. An investigation into activity therapies in nature seeks to quantify the long-term benefits of forest bathing in people with mild symptoms of anxiety and depression.
Pilar Martínez is one of the 46 individuals between the ages of 18 and 75 who have participated in recent months in the study promoted by primary care specialists from Parc Taulí and the UAB stress and health research group (GEIS). Her testimony leaves no doubt about the benefits of an experience to which she joined with expectation: “It gave me an impressive calm and serenity. Let people know that it works a lot and is very repairing. Repair the soul, the body and, above all, the head. For my state of mind it was a pure injection”.
The intervention consisted of two sessions of guided practice of forest bathing in the natural park of Sant Llorenç del Munt i l'Obac, with guided meditations and silent walks with full consciousness (mindful walking) among the trees, on a circular route of 4 km. “There is a lot of evidence that forest bathing has an immediate positive effect on emotional well-being, but less on whether it is long-lasting enough to have an impact on everyday life. In other words, if you can take them home”, explains Toni Sanz, coordinator of the NAT (Nature Activity Therapies) project at the UAB. If this thesis is scientifically confirmed, forest bathing may be the object of the so-called social prescription (non-pharmacological measures to treat emotional discomfort or suffering that does not reach moderate-severe mental disorder) by the health system, says psychologist Laura Commander, benchmark for emotional well-being of the CAP Can Rull de Sabadell.
The participants filled out assessment forms about their state of mind at each moment before each session and after, every three hours and up to 24 hours, through an application, so that the researchers can know the duration of the anxiolytic effect.
Forest bathing originates from Japan. There they are called shinrin yoku, literally "absorbing the atmosphere of the forest." According to Sanz, the preliminary results of the research have found that they produce an immediate impact, with a very clear reduction in anxiety levels and negative emotions, a moderate reduction in stress levels, a moderate increase in positive emotions and a intense increase in mindfulness attention span of body and mind.
“It remains to analyze whether, beyond these verified effects that are summarized in an improvement in mood and cognitive abilities, it lasts long enough to positively affect your daily life,” he explains. This would be evidence in favor of avoiding or reducing the prescription of psychotropic drugs in patients with very mild symptoms. An especially interesting option at a time, like the present, when, according to Laura Comendador, outpatient clinics receive more and more cases of emotional discomfort and there has been an increase in the consumption of medicines. “With the pandemic, mental health has worsened and a sedentary lifestyle has grown among the population. In response to this, it is necessary to promote group or community activities, or contact with nature, cultural, sports... instead of the pharmacological approach to emotional discomfort ”, reasons the psychologist.
Knowing that forest bathing has immediate positive emotional effects, and while waiting for the study to define its benefits in the longer term, it must be specified that this therapeutic modality cannot be practiced right away without prior knowledge. Experts recommend doing at least a couple of guided sessions. The Barcelona Provincial Council's network of natural parks usually includes them in its schedule of activities and entities such as the Sèlvans de Girona cooperative or the Forest Therapy Hub organize them systematically. "I look for accessible roads, it doesn't have to be too full of trees, but there must be shade, close to the city so that the journey is not long, but far enough from the roads to not find vehicles." Beyond the investigation, Pilar Martínez and her group continue with forest bathing.
