The Brain on Nature

Through time much has been written about the healing powers of nature. We intuitively understand that getting outdoors to unwind will recharge us but did you know that time in nature has long-term health benefits?

Scientists have begun studying the brain on nature to see what is naturally happening.

So, why is walking in a forest or walking beside trees so restorative?

Certainly, the colour, shape and terrain please our eye.

What you perhaps haven’t been aware of is that as you breathe in deeply during your forest walk you are breathing in a huge amount of monoterpenes and sesquiterpenes!

Monoterpenes and sesquiterpenes are the main components of essential oils. Researchers have learned that forests contain an astonishing array of volatile organic compounds (VOCs) that are emitted into the air in mass quantities by trees and other plants.

Monoterpenes and sesquiterpenes are some of the principal VOCs emitted by forests. Breathing in these VOCs is nature’s aromatherapy and its impact on our brain is widespread.

The National Geographic printed these 2 studies in December 2015:

‘In 2009 a team of Dutch researchers found a lower incidence of 15 diseases —including depression, anxiety, heart disease, diabetes, asthma, and migraines—in people who lived within about a half mile of green space. And in 2015 an international team overlaid health questionnaire responses from more than 31,000 Toronto residents onto a map of the city, block by block. Those living on blocks with more trees showed a boost in heart and metabolic health equivalent to what one would experience from a $20,000 gain in income. Lower mortality and fewer stress hormones circulating in the blood have also been connected to living close to green space.’

We can bring those positive effects of the brain on nature into our homes and workspaces by diffusing essential oils. The added bonus of diffusing essential oils is that they purify the air of airborne bacteria and viruses and they uplift mood while improving concentration.

Here are some beautiful diffuser blends to get you started.

Stress Less:

• 2 drops Lemon
• 2 drops Orange
• 2 drops Clove
• 2 drops Cedarwood

Forest Bath

• 1 drops Arborvitae
• 1 drops Cedarwood
• 2 drop Douglas Fir
• 2 drops Peppermint