The psychological and physical health effects of forests –A review of the scientific literature

Lifestyle diseases today impact the everyday life of people and will continue to do so, particularly in high-income countries. Consequences are loss in life expectancy, reduction of quality of life as well as rising economic burdens. The positive effects of spending time in natural environments on human well-being have been known for along time. In particular, there is extensive data indicating that spending time in forest has health-promoting effects. This narrative review of the literature presents the current state of the research on health-promoting effects of forest exposure and proposes several areas for further research. Forest exposure has beneficial health effects on the cardiovascular system, the immune system and on mood. More specifically, forest exposure appears to have a positive influence in reducing stress. However, little can be concluded about the extent of these positive effects, as most studies work without a control environment or control groups. Moreover forest exposure is often associated with physical activity, which is also known to have health benefits. Further research is therefore necessary to better understand the beneficial effect of forests on health. © AgroParisTech, 2018.