Forest Bathing and Nature Therapy for Perimenopause
Shinrin-yoku, or forest bathing, may ease perimenopause anxiety, stress, and fatigue. Learn how spending time in nature supports your wellbeing during this phase.
What forest bathing actually means
Forest bathing, or shinrin-yoku, is a practice that originated in Japan in the 1980s and has since accumulated a substantial body of research behind it. It does not involve physical exertion or any particular skill. The practice simply means being present in a forest or natural environment, moving slowly, using your senses, and allowing yourself to absorb your surroundings rather than moving through them with a destination in mind. It is distinct from a walk with headphones in or a brisk hike. The attention is outward and sensory rather than inward or goal-directed. For many women in perimenopause, this kind of purposeful presence in nature turns out to be far more restorative than they expected.
The research behind nature therapy
Studies on forest bathing have found consistent reductions in cortisol levels, blood pressure, heart rate, and self-reported stress after time spent in wooded environments. Researchers attribute part of this effect to phytoncides, the organic compounds released by trees that humans inhale during forest immersion. These compounds appear to support immune function and reduce inflammatory markers. The visual environment also plays a role: natural fractal patterns in leaves, bark, and water have been shown to reduce physiological stress responses in ways that urban environments do not. For perimenopausal women dealing with elevated cortisol, disrupted sleep, and heightened anxiety, these effects are not trivial. Even a single session lasting under an hour shows measurable physiological change.
Benefits for perimenopause anxiety and mood
Anxiety and mood fluctuations during perimenopause are driven by hormonal shifts, but they are also shaped by the environment the nervous system is operating in. Chronic stress amplifies hormonal symptoms, and the reverse is also true: reducing background stress through the nervous system can soften the severity of symptoms. Forest bathing appears to work in part by activating the parasympathetic nervous system, the rest-and-digest state that counteracts the fight-or-flight response many perimenopausal women feel stuck in. Women who report persistent anxiety, irritability, or low mood during perimenopause may find that regular time in natural settings, even parks or woodland edges rather than deep forest, produces a noticeable shift in how they feel.
Effects on sleep and fatigue
Sleep disruption is one of the most common and most exhausting aspects of perimenopause. Time in natural light during the day, particularly morning light, helps regulate circadian rhythms and can improve the quality and duration of sleep at night. Forest bathing combines light exposure with calm sensory engagement and reduced cortisol, a combination that appears to support better sleep over time. Fatigue, which is distinct from poor sleep and often reflects a deeper depletion of resources, also responds to time in natural settings. Many women describe feeling genuinely restored after even a short period in woodland or green space, in a way that indoor rest does not always produce.
How to practise forest bathing in the UK
You do not need to travel far or find pristine wilderness. Woodland, parks, riverside paths, and even larger gardens can support the practice if you approach them with attention. The key is slowing down. Walk for two or three minutes, then stop and stand quietly for a minute. Notice what you can hear, what the air smells like, the texture of bark or leaves. Sit on a bench and look at the canopy rather than checking your phone. Even twenty minutes done this way produces different results than a purposeful walk at the same pace. The Association of Nature and Forest Therapy offers guided sessions in many parts of the UK for those who want a more structured introduction.
Combining forest bathing with other practices
Forest bathing works well alongside other perimenopause lifestyle approaches. A gentle walk in woodland can double as morning light exposure and light movement without the cortisol spike of intense exercise. Some women find it a useful context for breathwork or informal meditation, since the natural environment reduces the effort required to settle attention. Others combine it with social connection by going with a friend, which adds a relational layer to the restorative effect. If you are already walking for exercise, adding ten minutes of intentional stillness in green space at the start or end of your walk costs very little and adds meaningfully to the experience.
Tracking the impact over time
The benefits of regular time in nature accumulate over weeks rather than arriving immediately after a single visit. Keeping a symptom log in the period when you are making this a regular habit helps you see whether it is having a real effect on your anxiety levels, sleep quality, mood, or fatigue. PeriPlan lets you track these symptoms over time so patterns become visible. You might notice that weeks when you spend more time outdoors consistently produce better symptom scores, or that particular activities combine well with nature time. Having that data makes it easier to prioritise outdoor time even when life is busy, because you can see the evidence that it matters.
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