The History of Tree Hugging

Take a deep-dive into the history of tree hugging and learn about why we should be spending more time in nature.

//

Everyone—and everything—thrives with a bit of affection, attention and appreciation. But it wasn’t so long ago that showing nature a little love got a bad rap.

Back in the 1960s, a growing awareness of humanity’s place (and impact) on the earth spawned the modern environmentalist movement, prompting a push to protect ecological systems from the consequences of rampant consumerism and capitalist-driven ‘progress’. But not everyone was on board. Many folks in mainstream society were uninterested in making a ‘return to nature’ and saw it as idealist pap, while the term ‘tree hugger’ became a scornful insult to hurl at those seen as naive activists.

But it turns out those long-haired hippies were onto something: sixty years later, a growing body of evidence shows that ‘hugging trees’ isn’t just flower-child woo-woo: it’s actually very good for you, and measurably so. The physical and psychological benefits of having a physical proximity to nature have been shown repeatedly in studies that highlight just how crucial a relationship with plants is for human health.

What the research proves about trees and our health

Research has shown that just walking in treed areas can improve concentration, decrease blood glucose levels in diabetic patients, and reduce feelings of anxiety, depression and anger. Other studies have found that just being in green outdoor settings can reduce symptoms of ADHD in children, resulting in better exercise outcomes and improved mental health.

The colour green has such a profound effect on the human body that simply looking at trees—even just pictures of them—improves mood and lowers stress-related hormones such as adrenaline and cortisol. One study famously showed that patients in a hospital bed with a window view of trees or a garden needed fewer painkillers, stayed for a shorter time and had better recovery outcomes than those who had only a brick wall to look at.

As for actually wrapping your arms around a tree trunk and giving it a big old squeeze? Hugging trees releases oxytocin—the so-called love drug—but more accurately understood as a hormone that plays a significant role in social bonding and romantic attachment.

The hit of oxytocin, combined with the release of serotonin and dopamine, means tree-hugging will give you a natural high. (For the record, twenty-one seconds is recommended as the minimum time for a tree hug to let all that bodily-bliss fully enter your system.)

Plus, getting up close and personal with bark and leaves means you’re breathing in phytoncides—antimicrobial chemicals emitted by plants to protect themselves from insects and disease. These phytoncides don’t just help trees—they’ve been shown to boost human immune systems too, lower blood pressure, heart rate and stress, and improve mood.

The benefits of tree-hugging are so well known that it’s become an established cultural practice in some parts of the world.

In the 1980s in highly urbanised Japan, where people have long enjoyed taking walks through the woods, the government formally embraced ‘forest bathing’ (shinrin-yoku) as part of its health program.

New York State’s Department of Environment encourages citizens to think of walks through natural parks and forests “as a prescription with no negative side effects that are also free”. More recently, the Icelandic Forestry Service cleared paths through the snow and encouraged citizens to hug trees instead of people when social distancing due to the coronavirus pandemic discouraged close human contact.

Tree-hugging is good for the mind, body and soul, and if that’s not enough reason to get on board, it’s also becoming a competition: there’s an annual Tree Hugging World Championship. So stretch out those arms, find the nearest trunk and get hugging.

Keen to find out more about how to hug a tree? We've got three tried and true ways to recommend right here.

///

The History of Tree Hugging was written by Kirsten Drysdale. The History of Tree Hugging was originally published in Hello Lunch Lady issue 27.