Spend time in nature deliberately like the Japanese practice shinrin-yoku
Spend 20-40 minutes in a forest or green space 2-3 times per week. Move slowly. Don't exercise - just be present. This is shinrin-yoku (forest bathing), coined in 1982 by Japan's Ministry of Agriculture as a national public health program.
Why It Works
Japan created shinrin-yoku specifically because they recognized their high-stress culture was killing people through cardiovascular disease. Studies across 24 Japanese forests confirm it lowers cortisol, pulse rate, blood pressure, and sympathetic nervous activity while boosting parasympathetic activity. The Japanese government invested in this because they needed a population-level counterweight to karoshi (death by overwork). Over 70% of Japanese physicians now prescribe Kampo (traditional medicine) including nature-based therapies.
Tips
- This is not hiking or exercise - speed and distance don't matter; sensory immersion does
- Urban parks provide measurable benefit, though forests show stronger effects
- Japan's approach was pragmatic, not spiritual - the government measured cortisol levels and blood pressure to validate it
Other solutions for What cultural habits and folk traditions protect the heart?
- Eat fermented foods at every meal like Koreans and Japanese
- Join or create a lifelong social support circle like Okinawa's moai
- Alternate hot and cold exposure like the Nordic sauna tradition
- Drink wine with food, never alone - the Mediterranean rule
- Cook with spices daily like Indian, Mediterranean, and Asian cultures