6. Nature Therapy Part 2: Reduce Stress, Boost Immunity, Fight Disease Outdoors

In this fun, insightful and science-backed episode of Nourished with Dr. Anikó, Dr. Anikó continues the powerful conversation on why nature is not just healing it’s essential.

With curiosity and compassion, Dr. Anikó explores how simple time spent in green spaces can profoundly impact our physical, emotional, and even cellular health. From immune support to cancer prevention and attention restoration, the benefits of nature go far beyond what we see they influence how we feel, heal, and function.

Drawing from her training as a double board-certified Integrative Pediatrician and Postpartum Specialist, Dr. Anikó breaks down what forest bathing (Shinrin-yoku) really is, how it differs from outdoor exercise and why contemplative time in nature is just as important as movement.

Whether you're craving calm, looking to support your immune system, or want to parent more mindfully, this episode will inspire you to press pause and reconnect with nature all around us. 

Episode Highlights:

• What Shinrin-yoku (forest bathing) is and how it differs from hiking or exercising outdoors
• How pine essential oils like alpha-pinene may slow cancer growth
• The link between green space and reduced risk of breast, prostate, and skin cancers
• How nature exposure supports immune function
• What “techno-stress” is and how nature helps relieve it
• Why more time outside improves ADHD symptoms
• How to use the 5-4-3-2-1 grounding technique 
• The emotional benefits of being in nature with children

This episode is a vibrant reminder that you don’t need to do more to feel better you just need to get outside more. Reclaim your connection to the earth, one deep breath and pine-scented moment at a time.

Connect with Dr. Anikó:

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/dr.aniko/

Website: https://www.draniko.com/

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Disclaimer:
The content of this podcast is for informational and entertainment purposes only and does not constitute medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment. The views expressed are those of the host and guests and do not substitute for professional medical advice. Always seek the guidance of your physician or other qualified healthcare provider with any questions you may have regarding your health or a medical condition. Never disregard professional medical advice or delay seeking it because of something you heard on this podcast.

Transcript

Dr. Anikó  [00:00:00] Hello again. So we are starting in on part two of Our Nature is so Good for us and why Episode in the first one I went over the nervous system, so the sympathetic and parasympathetic nervous system. So we have a good foundation of understanding exactly why being out in nature is so impactful and why when we're not in nature, that too can be very impactful, [00:01:00] just in not a very good way.

We also talked about some research that showed just how. Powerfully nature impacts our healing. Namely, the more time we spend in nature, the better off we are in terms of surgical recovery, in terms of mental health, physical health, it has positive effects on our immune function. So today I wanted to talk a little more in depth about some more of the research and real specifics about.

How good nature is for us. And also talk about some specifics of just practical how-tos, how to get outta nature, what to do when you're out there. Because sitting and taking in the forest atmosphere, which I say that way because it is the translation of the Japanese word, Shinrin-yoku. Japan has done a lot of research on being [00:02:00] out in the forest because they had an early experience really before other countries did of something called techno stress, which I don't know needs any further explanation in this day and age.

But it is stress as a result of technology use, not just how much, but also how you use technology. There's a lot of really interesting research that has come out of Japan showing just how good being out in green spaces is, and also.

Really highlighting the different ways in which we can be out in green spaces. So hiking in nature is wonderful, and in fact, exercising outside has been shown to have much more positive effects than exercising indoors. Exercising in urban environments has been shown to be not as beneficial 

obviously, exercise is always beneficial, so even if. You can only exercise indoors or only exercises in an [00:03:00] urban environment. Exercise has powerful positive effects on mental and physical health. So do it regardless, but it is. Really interesting to know that when we exercise outside in green spaces, that has the most beneficial effects, but also that exercising in green space is a really different thing than our new term of the day.

Shinrin-yoku which is. Literally just sitting in green space absorbing the energy of green space. Forest bathing is honestly a perfect name for it because you are bathing in the atmosphere of the forest, and that has a different effect and different impact than going outside and exercising in green space All of it is important, but a lot of times, even when people say they spend a lot of time in green space, a lot of times it is exercising and [00:04:00] being active in green space. Again, an amazing thing, but there's also the other part of being in green space, which is more about not doing, but just being, being contemplative in a natural setting.

 So there are studies on Shinrin-yoku.

That show that it increases theactivity of the parasympathetic nervous system and reduces the activity of sympathetic nerves, which makes sense, right? Because we feel calmer, more rested when we're out in nature. Studies have also shown that Shinrin-yoku improves the.

Function of natural killer cells. And now that I'm saying this aloud, I realize what a weirdly dramatic name that is. But natural killer cells are white blood cells. That destroy infected and disease cells, so that includes cancer cells. [00:05:00] So it probably does not come as a surprise that when we look at how much exposure someone has had to green space in studies.

 Higher residential greenness. So that just means how much green space and how much foliage and plants are in and around where you live is associated with a lower risk of prostate cancer, lower risks of mouth, throat, and non-melanoma skin cancers. And also a study that was done on nurses in the U.S.. Found that the more residential greenness you had, the lower breast cancer mortality that there was.

So this is pretty compelling and amazing. And then there was a really interesting one that I hadn't really thought of was that one component of being in green space and specifically forest bathing when you are with [00:06:00] trees specifically and in Japan, they have a lot of. coniferous forest, so a lot of pine trees.

There's also an aromatherapy component, which I found to be so interesting 'cause I didn't really think about it. When I think about walking in a forest, I obviously think about smelling the pine trees. It's actually one of my favorite things is that smell of dry pine needles when the sunlight is on them.

I just think that crunch and that smell is so amazing and soothing, and I love it. Well, it turns out that the compounds, some of the compounds that are found in it were namely alpha-pinene, beta-pinene, and something called limonene have all been found to have positive effects on mental health, stress reduction, anxiety reduction, but also this specific one alpha-pinene was shown in a.

Study to decrease melanoma growth in rats that were [00:07:00] placed in a fragrant environment that contained alpha-pinene. I just feel like shut the front door. Are you kidding me? You put rats in an environment where it's smelled like pine because it has these pine essential oils and their cancer growth reduced.

I mean, this to me is so. Cool. It's so cool and it's so amazing, and again, just reminds us that nature is not only good for us, it is essential for us, and that makes perfect, perfect sense because we are a part of nature. The other place that I have found this to be really interesting, and it's really well studied in the literature.

 And there's even a theory around it actually. It's called the attention Restoration Theory, that theory states that. Mental fatigue associated with modern life [00:08:00] is associated with a depleted capacity to direct attention. And according to this theory, spending time in natural environments enables people to overcome this mental fatigue and to restore the capacity to direct attention.

And this is just a theory, right? So this is just a way to explain our. Draw to nature, which the fancy name for that is biophilia. And then also the impact that it has on us because it does have a really profound impact on us. And this is sometimes especially well seen in ADHD. So more time in green space, especially in childhood, has been shown in studies to be associated with a lower risk of developing ADHD.

But even if a child or an adult already has ADHD contact with nature improves their mood, their cognitive functioning, it increases their social interactions and it actually [00:09:00] reduces ADHD symptoms. In fact, the effects of nature are so profound that some people use the phrase Nature deficit disorder.

 Now, while this is not a clinical disorder, it does describe the fact that we are harmed when we are not in nature enough. When we have a nature deficit, we have more psychiatric disorders, more physical disorders. We already talked about the impact on cancer mortality. It is a really, really big deal. And so most people recommend about two hours a week in a safe, natural, green environment.

 And I would also say, like we talked about earlier, the importance of exercise just on its own. We need to move our bodies, we need to exercise, but we also need to shift our mindset into. One that really respects and honors rest and being instead of doing right. A lot of times we [00:10:00] say, don't just sit there, do something.

The reverse is also very important in our modern world. Don't just do something, sit there. So when we start to recognize that the parasympathetic nervous system has a vital role in our bodies, the sympathetic and parasympathetic nervous systems are complimentary systems. Our bodies do not function in a healthy way when they are not in balance.

So we need to value rest. Quiet contemplation, not just this go, go, go, go, go. And not just sleeping so that I can be more effective in the day or resting so that I can do more later. But really start to value what rest does for our body, what sleep does for our body. It is a process that is so important standalone, not just in the context of the [00:11:00] action and the sympathetic nervous.

System and the productivity. That can be a hard pill to swallow for a lot of people because it is radically opposed to some of the tenets that we kind of live our lives by. We are in a really grind, heavy culture, and it can be a really radical thing to say, no, I'm going to rest now. I need to sleep now.

I have to sleep this many hours. I need to go out into nature and sit. Think of how many times you've gone into nature to hike or camp or build a fire maybe, or fish, but you're always doing something instead of just sitting there. I will say fishing might be the exception to this 'cause I do feel like fishing has that contemplative quality where you are just sitting.

Listening, being in the space and just waiting for what's next. So fishing might be [00:12:00] the thing. Fishing might be one of the things, but so one of my suggestions, and these are the practical tips for how to be outside in nature. So first of all, just go outside. If you are in an urban environment, see if you can find a park.

 You can always use all trails, which is a great app or website. And it can show you local trails where you can go and just experience nature and be on it. Again, I love hiking. I'm a big hiker, but I also want to emphasize the importance of just sitting in and just being in the atmosphere of nature versus simply just exercising and maybe not being as present in nature as when you're just sitting in it.

For kids. I like to just take them out and let them roam around. Maybe we'll collect leaves. A lot of times we'll sit and just listen. So one of the things I like to do is to drop into my five senses. There's a great grounding tool that a lot of people use for anxiety called the [00:13:00] 5, 4, 3, 2, 1 technique. I actually really like to use it not just in the context of anxiety, but it's great for that too, but also in the context of dropping into nature because what's really.

Powerful is your being in it. And the way that you can be in nature is to be in your body and have a sensory experience of nature. So with the 5, 4, 3, 2, 1 technique, it's to notice five things that you can see. Four things that you can feel, and that could be the air on your skin. It could be the clothing on your skin.

It could be your feet on the ground, it could be your seat on the chair. So things like that could be the sun on your skin. That's a nice feeling. and then it's three things that you can hear. Two things that you can smell like those great essential oils from the trees around you. And then one thing that you can taste, and that could just be the sip of water you just [00:14:00] had, whatever you just ate.

And in that way, you start to notice your body. Being in nature, and a lot of times it can really quiet your mind to the point that you can just sit in and really feel that you are a part of this natural system. And of course, we feel calmer, we feel more restored. Our capacity for attention is often restored and our focus is restored.

And of course you know that in studies that is reflected, so lower anxiety levels, lower salivary cortisol, which we talked about in last podcast, is a marker of increased sympathetic activity. So if you have lower salivary cortisol, that means you have less stress experience. Another neat thing about more time in green spaces is that some research is showing that it appears to impact our microbiome, which [00:15:00] might be another way that it impacts our immune system.

And we also know that the microbiome is related to mental health conditions like depression. So there is just such a plethora of interconnected integrative. You know how much I love integrative ways that being in nature has a really, really profound and positive impact on our wellbeing and health. And it's also easy, right?

You don't have to take a pill every three hours or get a procedure. To be clear, I am so grateful for medications and procedures when I need them, but I personally and in my practice, like to do everything that I can for myself, for my family, for my patients, that enables them to take care of their health through lifestyle and other more everyday approaches.

So that maybe you don't need to use the medication or the procedure [00:16:00] down the line. So I hope this gets you really excited about the healing environment that is available just outside your door. I hope it inspires you to spend a little bit more time outside today and every day, maybe go outside with a loved one.

A family member, a kid. Kids are great to be out in nature with. They notice all sorts of things and get into nature with them. If you do have the privilege and joy of spending time in nature with a child, get down on the ground with them. Look at the bugs with them. remember how fascinating ants were?

They still are that cool if you just allow yourself to stop and really be in the natural world. And a lot of times, all the guidance that kids need from us is for us to quiet downand get absorbed in the natural world with them. So I hope this helps and I hope this gets you super excited for how profoundly [00:17:00] nature can impact our health and wellbeing.