November 5th

By Mutt Mulligan

Spending time in wooded areas helps boost immunity

Those who want to give their immunity a shot in the arm may want to take a walk in a tree-filled nature environment. Spending time in wooded areas (i.e. being an “outsider” like TurfMutt) exposes people to phytoncides. Phytoncides are airborne essential oils that trees emit to protect themselves from germs and insects. Turns out, these phytoncides are good for people, too.

When we breathe in phytoncides, our bodies respond by making more of a type of white blood cells called natural killer cells (NKs). NKs eradicate cells in our bodies that are infected with tumors and viruses. (Read more about the research here: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/20074458.)

This is just one benefit of spending time in green space. Others include reduced stress, better heart health, improved memory and faster healing. To read up on the latest scientific stats that prove being an outsider is good for our health and well-being, check out the recently updated Living Landscapes Fact Book.