Forest bathing may improve health by reducing negative rumination and increasing self-compassionThis systematic literature review built upon previous reviews of the effects of forest bathing. Forest bathing, also known as Shinrin-yoku, is a form of nature therapy where people immerse themselves in forests while mindfully walking, sitting, or viewing in ways that enhance their sensual experience. Previous literature reviews have focused on the psychological benefits of forest bathing. This literature review was slightly different because it tried to identify how forest bathing might work through general psychological processes to benefit people. Specifically, the authors speculated that forest bathing might benefit humans by having positive effects on their self-criticism, self-compassion, and self-protection. The goal of the study was to synthesize evidence on forest bathing improving well-being through these three psychological pathways.
This Slovakian study utilized a formal protocol to identify, select, and analyze relevant research studies that focused on the relationship between forest bathing and one of the following outcomes: self-criticism, self-compassion, and self-protection. The selected studies included participants from age 15 to adult. They also used established protocols to evaluate the quality of these sources and their risks for bias. This screening process yielded 12 studies to review and analyze.
Of these 12 studies, 9 examined the effects of forest bathing on self-criticism, 3 examined its effects on self-compassion, and 0 examined forest bathing’s effects on self-protection/assertiveness. The self-criticism studies did not specifically measure self-criticism; however, several studies showed that the practice of forest bathing was related to reductions in rumination, or repetitive negative thinking. Likewise, reductions in rumination often coincided with reductions in anxiety, depression, anger, confusion, stress, fatigue, and negative affect and increases in positive affect, self-compassion, and well-being. The self-compassion studies linked forest bathing to increases in self-compassion and positive affect and decreases in psychological symptoms. The study did not identify relevant research that linked forest bathing to self-protection, so it did not synthetize any evidence regarding this psychological pathway. Overall, the quality of these studies was often low, due to small sample sizes and limited randomized control trials.
The 12 studies reviewed in this article varied in study designs, types of nature exposure, and measured outcomes. One key finding was that forest bathing can reduce rumination, repeated negative thinking, and fears of self-compassion—which may be one mechanism whereby forest bathing increases people’s mental and physical health. Self-compassion is another possible pathway for forest bathing to benefit those who practice it. Based on this review, the authors characterize forest bathing as an affordable and accessible means to reduce negative ruminations in people and to enhance their self-compassion in order to realize better physical and mental health. The article concluded with a call for more rigorous research on the effects of forest bathing, including more randomized control trials, standardized procedures for sample selection, consistent measurement tools, and unified definitions of key concepts.
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