The Theories Underpinning Forest Bathing and Nature-Connection

29th January 2022

There are a variety of theories that underpin and support the proposals that Forest Bathing and Nature-Connection activities have beneficial effects on psychological and physical wellbeing. These theories include the Biophilia Hypothesis, Attention Restoration Theory, and Psychophysiological Stress Recovery Theory.

The Biophilia Theory or Hypothesis

‘Biophilia’ is a term first used by Erich Fromm in 1973 to describe the human attraction to other living things. A wider theory based on this was later developed by Edward Wilson in his 1978 book ‘On Human Nature’ and 1984 book ‘Biophilia’ in which he stated that humans felt an emotional, but subconscious connection to environments inhabited by plants and animals that was rooted in biology and evolution.

The ‘Biophilia’ effect is the theory that explains why being nature is therapeutic and conversely why separation from nature can be psychologically and emotionally damaging. Richard Louv coined the phrase ‘Nature Deficit Disorder’ in his 2005 book ‘Last Child in the Woods: Saving Our Children From Nature-Deficit Disorder’. In this book he argues that all of us, especially children, are spending more time indoors, and that this can lead to people feeling alienated from nature and potentially more vulnerable to negative moods or reduced attention span.

The report Beyond Knowing Nature proposes that there are nine values of biophilia that describe how humanity affiliates with nature:

Further research evidence supporting the biophilia hypothesis has since been developed within the field of environmental psychology, including the work of Stephen and Rachel Kaplan, and Roger Ulrich, described below.

Attention Restoration Theory 

The ‘Attention Restoration Theory’ was first described by Rachel and Stephen Kaplan in their 1989 book published in ‘The experience of nature: A psychological perspective’. This is the theory that spending time in nature has a uniquely restorative effect on us, both cognitively and mentally. It suggests that the mere action of spending time in the countryside, walking in a forest, sitting in a park, watching the sunset or even just looking out the window at a green space provides us with the opportunity to rest, reflect and restore the resources that we require to cope with everyday life.

Attention Restoration Theory (or ART) proposes that in addition to exposure to nature being enjoyable, that it also has restorative effects, especially in terms of our ability to focus and concentrate. They propose that there are four stages along the path to restoration:

Clearing the mind, where concerns, worries and negative thoughts are allowed to pass through the mind and fade away, not by pushing them away, but by letting them flow through and out;

Recovery from mental fatigue, where, following any activity that requires focused and directed attention, the mind is allowed to recover to normal levels;

Soft fascination, where the individual can spend time in an environment that attracts us and is stimulating in a gentle way, where they can relax such as the natural environment (as opposed to ‘hard’ fascination like watching television or sports that require a higher level of attention that usually precludes time for reflection);

And ‘Reflection and Restoration’, where the most impactful restoration occurs, most commonly from spending an extended period of time in an environment that has four key components or meets four critical requirements. 

The Four Components of Restorative Experiences or Environments:

According to Kaplan and Kaplan, there are four key components that they believed were necessary for a restorative environment or restorative experience:

1.    Being Away
2.    Soft Fascination
3.    Extent
4.    Compatibility

Being Away

Being away refers to the sense of being separate and apart from one’s usual thoughts and concerns; becoming psychologically detached from your present worries and experiencing a feeling of escape from everyday life.

Fascination

Fascination involves something holding your attention without any effort expended. Restorative environments hold your attention without you having to focus or direct it a certain way, and in a natural environment this might include listening to birdsong or the wind in the trees; watching clouds move by or water flow; being absorbed in the beauty of a sunset or sunrise. As previously discussed, environments that involve ‘soft fascination’, such as nature, are usually perceived to be more restorative than those that involve ‘hard fascination’, such as motor racing, although the latter can provide entertainment and reduce boredom.

Extent

Extent refers to the quality of the restorative environment that encourages you to feel totally immersed and engaged and as if you are in a whole other world.

Compatibility

Compatibility is all about feeling enjoyment in and an affinity to your environment. To be restorative, an environment must be one in which the individual chooses to be out of intrinsic motivation (they are doing it for themselves) and personal preference, otherwise they are unlikely to experience restoration.

Psychophysiological Stress Recovery Theory

Several of the theories underpinning the beneficial and restorative effects of nature on psychological and phyisological functioning are brought together within Roger Ulrich’s (1984 & 1991) Psychophysiological Stress Recovery Theory. This theory proposes that when people are psychologically or physically stressed, then exposure to unthreatening natural environments will reduce stress and have a restorative effect, whereas many urban environments will hamper restoration, recuperation and recovery.

Ulrich tested his hypothesis in two ways, firstly by looking at the recovery rates of hospital patients and then through creating stress in participants and then exposing them to different natural and urban stimuli.

Hospital Study

In his hospital study, Ulrich looked at the case notes of 46 patients who had received gall bladder surgery, and divided them into two groups of 23 matched for age, sex, health and weight, and smoking status. One group had recuperated in a hospital room with a window overlooking an outdoor space, the other in an identically sized room, but that overlooked a brick wall. Only records from when the trees would have had full leaf coverage were used. It was found that those who recuperated in rooms with windows looking out on a natural scene had shorter postoperative hospital stays, received fewer negative evaluative comments in nurses' notes, and took fewer painkillers than the 23 matched patients in similar rooms with windows facing a brick wall.

The experiment was repeated using printed images of nature, and again it was found to have beneficial results on those recovering from their surgery. To prove also that it is not just the sight of nature that can promote recuperation, the experiment was repeated once more, but using both real and recorded birdsong and once again it was found that healing times were increased and physical discomfort was decreased by its use.

Film Study

In this film study 120 people were asked to watch a stressful film and then exposed to videotapes of one of six natural or urban environments, with associated sounds. Data on how quickly the participants recovered from the stress were measured by self-ratings and a range of tests to measure physiological responses such as heart rate, blood pressure and muscle tension. The  findings indicated that recovery was faster and more complete when participants were exposed to natural rather than urban environments. The pattern of physiological findings also raised the possibility that responses to nature had a salient parasympathetic nervous system component; however, there was no evidence of pronounced parasympathetic involvement in responses to the urban settings. The parasympathetic nervous system is often referred to as the ‘rest and digest’ response, as it is responsible for the body's rest and digestion response when the body is relaxed, resting, or feeding. It decreases respiration and heart rate and increases digestion and undoes the work of sympathetic nervous system (or ‘fight or flight response’) after a stressful situation. 

These findings were consistent with the predictions of psycho-evolutionary theory that the restorative influences of exposure to nature result in positive changes in mental and emotional wellbeing; positive changes in physiological activity; and that these changes are accompanied by a restorative effect on focus and concentration.

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