Spending time near trees helps you live longer, study says
Living near trees helps you live longer (freepik.com)
Surprisingly, it turns out that hugging trees can actually relieve stress and prolong life, according to a new study, reports Daily Express.
What study says
Scientists say that walking in the woods while listening to birds singing releases chemicals that improve our immune system.
Dr. Tara Swart, a lecturer at the Sloan School of Management at MIT says that new physiological evidence suggests that people live longer simply because they live closer to trees.
"Time in nature literally changes your lifespan and your health," says psychiatrist Tara Swart.
Any trees really, but particularly cedars, pines, and cypresses release compounds called phytoncides that trigger the release of natural killer cells in our immune systems. So it boosts our immune system, she says.
"But now it turns out these trees are secreting chemicals that interact with our immune systems," she said.
Inhaling the chemicals that the trees release into the air is even said to increase levels of anti-cancer proteins.
The chemicals that plants release to protect themselves from decay or attack by herbivores are known as antimicrobial allelochemical volatile organic compounds.
Dr. Swart added that a new field of research called neuroaesthetics, which studies the effects of beauty and creativity on the brain, has also found that simply spending time in nature calms the mind - thanks to built-in evolutionary survival factors.
"The beauty and the awe of it have an effect on us mentally," the expert added.
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