Phytoncides.
Okay, stay with me. The logic on this one is a little convoluted. First of all, forest bathing. By now the term is familiar, yet another Eastern idea (in Japan it’s called shinrin yoku) glommed onto by Western society. The Japanese ministry of agriculture, forestry, and fisheries coined the term in 1982. It refers to “making contact with and taking in the atmosphere of the forest,” an activity that leads to all kinds of good physical and mental health outcomes.
Sounds good! But, to many Western, left-brained, show-me-the-evidence types , it also sounds a bit . . . woo.
Not to worry. It’s since been scienced, by both Japanese and Western researchers. Turns out the main actors in this magical woodland medicine are phytoncides, “airborne chemicals that plants give off to protect themselves from insects,” according to New York’s department of environmental conservation.
I mean, the word seems pretty villainous, if you look at its etymology: phyton = plant, and cide = kill. How can something that kills plants, or how do killer plants, help people?
When we inhale phytoncides, as we’re innocently meandering—or sitting, or hammocking—in the backcountry, we give a special white blood cell in our bodies a boost. Get this: the special cell is called a natural killer cell. So much death!
Well, it’s death we want, because NK cells kill off, you guessed it, harmful other cells. They’re killers, but they only kill bad guys: tumor- and virus-infected cells.
And how does that help me write? It’s the mind-body connection. Sure, there are ample examples of alcoholic and mentally ill writers who nevertheless succeeded wildly. Those are exceptions. Most of us need to be at our best in order to write well.
So this solstice, see if you can spend some time outside, breathe in the killer-plant compounds, ramp up your killer-cell production, be healthy, and write well.