Persons who suffer from long-term illnesses and spend time in the forest recover quicker than persons who do not spend time in the forest, as an initial pilot study in Umeå shows. The "Skog och hälsa" (Forest and Health) project is the largest study so far that examines the forest's healing effect on persons who are ill.
"There is a widespread view that the forest is good for your health, but there has been no real scientific evidence. Now we have started to build a scientific basis that proves the healing power of the forest," says Ann Dolling, Senior Researcher at the Department of Forest Ecology and Management at SLU in Umeå.
The investigation is part of the "Skog och hälsa" (Forest and Health) research programme, which has been conducted since 2007 by the Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences SLU, the Centre for Work and Behavioural Medicine at University Hospital of Umeå (NUS) and Sveaskog. During the autumn, the trial group of 99 persons was divided into two groups: one smaller group that spent time in the forest under experiment-like conditions twice a week, and a control group that spent time at home or in a hospital environment.
"According to the questionnaires that the patients filled out following their visits to the forest, we can see that they feel better after each visit. Even aggregated, after three months, we can note an improvement in practically each person," says Ann Dolling.
Sveaskog has been the largest financier of the project and is supporting the research, since they want to develop all the values of the forest.
"The forest is so much more than a storage for raw material for saw mills and pulp mills. With this, we see an opportunity for the forest to be a place for green rehabilitation as well. This has the potential to create completely new concepts and business opportunities," says Ann-Britt Edfast, R&D Manager at Sveaskog.
The Forest and Health study will now enter a second phase which will also include cognitive behavioural therapy. The final medical results from this phase will be presented in the autumn.
For further information, please contact:
Ann Dolling, Senior Researcher at the Department of Forest Ecology and Management at SLU, tel +46 (0)70 699 74 52
Ann-Britt Edfast, Vice President R&D, Sveaskog, tel +46 (0)70 277 00 84
Esbjörn Wahlberg, Press Officer, Sveaskog, tel +46 (0)70 231 35 02