Why it's good to hug trees

Direct contact allows us to absorb terpenes through the skin. And so we produce more anticancer proteins. Every tree has its own character, just like humans.

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HEALTH BENEFITS OF TREES

Hugging a tree: have you ever done it? A powerful gesture, an encounter with nature that loves us and regenerates us, a search for well-being physical and mental. One should not expect miracles from trees, which make up a quarter of the 391 thousand species of vascular plants present on Earth, but they certainly exist, and are scientifically proven, therapeutic aspects related to the relationship between man and the treeWe have some spoken in this article, and in general, wanting to get straight to the point, the main wealth of trees are terpenes, contained in the bark, and to a lesser extent, in the leaves.

These are gases that release cells natural killers, powerful immune defenses of our body, anticancer proteins. And hugging allows you to absorb terpenes directly, not only through the lungs, that is, by breathing, but through the skin, with the physical contact between the trunk and the human body. And the more we squeeze the trunk, where the terpenes are concentrated, the more we can stimulate a reaction in the brain that produces the healthy neurotransmitters.

 

ll Mito broken: how false sustainability has made il more unjust world by Antonio Galdo (Codice Edizioni): if you want to read il book click here.

The Shattered Myth cover

But hugging a tree, which at first glance might seem like a pop-art fad or the eccentric act of a sect of woodland dwellers, isn't just a gesture inspired by the idea of ​​producing, and not wasting, physical well-being. There's more, more.

In the radical nature of this gesture, which It's very similar to the bond between a mother and a child, between two lovers, there is the recognition that our life cannot ignore the relationship with others treesEverywhere. Even where they represent only oases in the urban landscape: parks, gardens, tree-lined streets, little corners of greenery. We need trees, just as they need us and our care. All thebalance of nature, any discussion on sustainability is based on this relationship which, unfortunately, we tend to break, even just through carelessness, indifference, or ignorance.

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And in being together, in sharing a single space, in feeling connected, through the strength of an embrace, we will also better recognize another element that unites us to trees: the diversityIt is truly impressive, and a fascinating discovery, how much diversity there is among trees, just as among men. Beech tree It is solid, resistant, protective, but also ruthless, and if it feels threatened, it stretches out its foliage over its unwelcome neighbor, blocking its light until it withers. The oak is granite-like, robust, and wise: for this reason, it tolerates both humidity and aridity, and lives for centuries. birch It's irritable, touchy, and quarrelsome: it takes very little to trigger its violent reaction. As soon as the wind shifts and begins to blow hard, the birch extends its branches and uses them like whips to keep the neighboring tree at bay, without risking any harm from excessive proximity. Trees don't have apartment building squabbles and lawyers waiting in line to send letters to their neighbors, but even for them, coexistence can be very difficult. Yet the lesson they teach us is simple: let's try. In everyone's interest.

2HUGGING TREES

Hugging trees, breathing the air in their direct vicinity, not only produces benefits to the mind, it does not only help to relax by lowering stress and tension. There are also beneficial effects on the body. Such as these:
  • The number of red blood cells increases
  • Blood circulation improves
  • The lungs of people with chronic lung problems work better and with less effort.
  • Sleep and its quality benefit significantly from this.
  • Cell aging is delayed
  • Spending time in nature can increase the activity of natural killer cells, which help the body fight infections and tumors.
  • Physical contact with a tree can have a calming effect similar to meditation or mindfulness.
  • The "forest therapy” or “shinrin-yoku” (forest bathing), practiced in Japan, is associated with improvements in mood and a reduction in anxiety and depression.
  • Hugging a tree can make you feel more connected to nature and reduce feelings of isolation.

hug the trees

La silvotherapy It is a method with which, in a simple but effective way, one tries to make the most of, and not waste, the benefits that come from direct and close contact with the treesSilvotherapy involves hugging a tree or sitting next to it, knowing that in this way we are making close contact with nature more beneficial. Trees they are intelligent and they have a brain similar to that of humans. They speak and remain silent, protect each other, argue, laugh and cry, are both generous and ruthless. Their character has been the focus of extensive research since the 19th century, thanks to the studies of the naturalist and biologist Charles Darwin. And almost two centuries later it was discovered that trees invented an Internet network long before manIt is the web of plants, a gigantic network of roots, which allows them to living in symbiosis, to exchange both molecules with nutrients and electrical signals with information, with the danger of the arrival of a climate change. Further proof of the intelligence of trees and their ability to live in relationship with one another. Let's go out to meet them, even with a hug: we won't experience an erotic impulse, but we will receive something.

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