You're listening to Life Kit from NPR.

Hey everybody, it's Mariel.

Is it the forest, a magical place?

Like when you really venture into the woods,

and you see these century old trees towering over you,

sunlight twinkling through them,

and spiders weaving their elaborate webs,

the smell of pine needles is in the air.

Birds are tweeting.

You hear a mysterious sound that you're not going to pay too much attention to,

but you really hope is not a bear.

There is a moment of awe that happens when you step into a forest,

and I think a lot of us consents that forest bathing,

or taking in the forest through your senses,

makes us feel better and calmer.

I was surprised to learn that there are decades of scientific evidence backing that up.

A lot of the evidence comes from Japan,

where the term forest bathing originated in the 1980s.

Over many years, researchers have shown in peer reviewed studies

that time in the forest is a kind of medicine.

Forest bathing helps your immune system

by increasing your levels of anti-cancer proteins

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