How sitting with a tree regulates your nervous system (no, really)

What if one of the simplest ways to calm your nervous system has been quietly waiting outside all along? Exploring the science of co-regulation, our connection with nature, and why spending time with a tree may be more therapeutic than you think.

Connecting to nature

Yes, I’m a tree hugger and a tree sitter. I have been since I was a little girl and I wouldn’t change it for anything.  As a child my favourite tree was a magnificent willow in the local woods. I’d spend what seemed like hours nestled in the willow’s centre, playing in the imaginary home created within its branches. I needed nothing and no one. It was my safe space, and one that I now understand, was helping me to regulate my nervous system.

This connection to trees stayed with me throughout my life. Spending time with trees became my go to when I was stressed by work or life demands. As time went on, I began to notice how sitting with trees would centre me, bring me back into the presence of my body and support me to deeply connect to the quietness within my heart. It feels like the Earth and the roots are drawing out all that no longer serves me pulling it into the ground, so I may come back into balance.

Trees have always held a really special place in my heart, so of course my first tattoo had to be a Tree of Life. All those years ago, I didn’t have the language that we have now to describe these experiences and understand the healing and restorative benefits that nature provides. It was just something I did that settled me and made my life feel fuller, connecting me to something greater than myself.

During my work as a hospice therapist I came across research that offered a physiological and emotional explanation for these experiences. In 1984, researcher Roger Ulrich looked at patients recovering from surgery. Half had a view of trees from their hospital window; the other half looked onto a brick wall. Those with the view of the trees recovered more quickly, needed less strong pain medication and had fewer negative observations recorded by nurses.

Reading that research took me straight back to that little girl sitting inside the willow tree. I'd always known those moments made me feel safe and this made perfect sense; of course nature and trees can make a difference to how the body heals, now science was beginning to explain what my body knew, but hadn't had the language to describe it.

Since that first study, researchers have continued exploring what many of us have always felt instinctively. Study after study has shown that spending time amongst trees can calm the part of our nervous system responsible for our stress response, slowing our heart rate, lowering blood pressure, and helping us move into a state of rest and repair.

Sometimes what we know innately, like how trees help us ground and regulate our nervous system, takes science a little time to catch up. When I think of our ancient ancestors, they didn’t need research papers to tell them that the forest soothed the soul, or that sitting beneath a tree could bring a sense of peace. They simply lived alongside the natural world. Perhaps we've spent so long disconnected from nature that we've forgotten something our bodies have known all along. Maybe every time we stop and lean against a tree, we're not learning something new…..maybe our body is remembering.

So, the next time you’re out for a walk, or in the woods, maybe pause by a tree, introduce yourself and sit quietly with it for a while. You might like to tell the tree how you’re doing, or simply breathe along with it. Sit amongst its roots or lie on your back looking up at the sky, watching the clouds overhead. It may feel good to rest your bare feet upon its trunk. Tune in to how you feel. Notice your breathing, your heartbeat. You never know, you may discover something your body has been trying to tell you all along.

And when you're ready to leave, it's always nice to say a quiet thank you to your tree for its time, its presence, and the space it has shared with you.

If you're curious and would like to explore the research for yourself, here are five studies that I found particularly interesting

Ulrich, R. S. (1984). View through a window may influence recovery from surgery. Science, 224(4647), 420–421.

A landmark study examining patients recovering from gallbladder surgery. Those with a view of trees from their hospital window recovered more quickly, required less strong pain medication and had fewer negative observations recorded by nurses than patients whose rooms overlooked a brick wall.

Park, B. J., Tsunetsugu, Y., Kasetani, T., Kagawa, T., & Miyazaki, Y. (2010). The physiological effects of Shinrin-yoku (taking in the forest atmosphere or forest bathing): Evidence from field experiments in 24 forests across Japan. Environmental Health and Preventive Medicine, 15(1), 18–26.

Researchers found that spending time in forests reduced cortisol, pulse rate and blood pressure while increasing parasympathetic ("rest and digest") nervous system activity compared with time spent in urban environments.

Antonelli, M., Barbieri, G., & Donelli, D. (2019). Effects of forest bathing (Shinrin-yoku) on levels of cortisol as a stress biomarker: A systematic review and meta-analysis. International Journal of Biometeorology, 63(8), 1117–1134.

A review of 22 studies that concluded forest bathing consistently lowers salivary cortisol, one of the body's primary stress hormones.

Rajoo, K. S., Karam, D. S., & Abdullah, M. Z. (2020). The physiological and psychosocial effects of forest therapy: A systematic review. Urban Forestry & Urban Greening, 54, 126744.

This review found evidence that spending time in forests can improve heart rate variability (HRV), increase parasympathetic nervous system activity, reduce sympathetic ("fight or flight") activation and support emotional wellbeing.

Yao, Y., Pan, B., Liu, Y., Wang, Y., Liu, Q., & Wei, N. (2021). Health effects of exposure to forest environments: A systematic review and meta-analysis. Environmental Research, 202, 111646.

This systematic review concluded that exposure to forest environments is associated with improvements in blood pressure, heart rate, cortisol levels and markers of autonomic nervous system regulation.