“Just smelling natural scents lowers blood pressure”…How does it work?

Walking in the forest changes your gut microbiome. Touching wood makes you feel calm. Just looking at photos of the African savannah grasslands calms my mind. Nature makes our bodies healthy. Even if you don’t live as a ‘natural person’ in Simsanyu Valley, there are many ways to enjoy the benefits of nature.

Cathy Willis, a professor of biology at Oxford University in the UK, says nature is a cure for disease in her new book ‘Good Nature: Why Seeing, Smelling, Hearing, and Touching Plants is Good for Our Health’. It is claimed that

‘Live Science’, an American popular science media outlet, asked Professor Willis about the basis. He explained not only the health benefits of nature, but also how the natural environment can be used to treat diseases.

-Why did you explore the impact of nature on health?

There is a study that says gallbladder surgery patients who can see trees outside their window take less pain medication and recover much faster than patients who see a brick wall. There is a direct relationship between vision and the speed of recovery from disease. I wanted to know how the body’s mechanisms work to speed up recovery and reduce pain by looking at nature.

-Do you mean that surrounding plants and nature also have psychological and physiological effects?

When our senses interact with certain types of nature, important changes occur in our bodies. This is an automatic reaction. For example, hormone levels change, adrenaline hormones drop, or heart rate changes.

-What is the mechanism that occurs in the body when looking at green?

Green affects us in three ways: First, it affects the autonomic nervous system, lowering heart rate and blood pressure. Second, hormones change amylase levels, which are associated with stress. Third, you will feel much calmer mentally and less anxious.

-Are you affected by just being surrounded by nature?

yes. Yes. The molecules in plant odors are volatile organic compounds (VOCs) that travel across the lung membranes and into the blood. Walking through a pine forest increases the content of pinene (a hydrocarbon distributed in large quantities in the essential oil of conifers, which has a refreshing scent) in your blood. It interacts with the same biochemical pathways that take prescription medications for anxiety.

When people breathe in VOCs from the Cupressaceae (mainly coniferous trees with needle-shaped or scaly leaves) and Cedar families, they not only experience a decrease in the hormone adrenaline, but also a rise in natural killer cells in the blood. These cells attack cancer or viruses. A study published in the journal Cancer found that people living near Cupressidae forests had significantly lower rates of autoimmune diseases. After walking through the Kuprecigua forest for 5 hours, natural killer cells increased, and the same continued after 7 days.

-Will using artificial plants be effective?

In a study of Japanese students, their blood pressure decreased after looking at a flowerpot filled with real pansies for 10 minutes. The same was true for artificial plants made of plastic. However, you must have a sense of smell, not just sight.

-Are there any body systems that are influenced by nature?

Children from a Finnish orphanage played on concrete in one area, on mats in another, and on dirt brought from the boreal forest in a third. The researchers measured the gut microbiome and then measured markers of inflammation in the blood. A completely new community of microorganisms was discovered in children playing in the dirt after 28 days. These children had significantly reduced inflammatory markers.

-Is there anything we can do to bring nature into our homes?

Let’s say there’s a vase of roses on your desk. Research has shown that looking at white and yellow roses lowers blood pressure. Putting a vase of roses on our desk is something we can do.