Hug a Tree?

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The Deep-Rooted Bond Between Humans and Nature

The relationship between humans and the natural world is deeply entrenched in our history. Early humans, living as hunter-gatherers, were intimately connected to nature, relying on it for their fundamental needs such as food and shelter. This essential bond ensured our survival for millions of years. Beyond these basic needs, the intentional use of nature for wellbeing is evident in ancient spiritual traditions and practices. Evidence suggests that humans have been making use of medicinal plants for health and healing purposes since the Paleolithic era, approximately 3.3 million years ago. This long-standing connection highlights the importance of nature, and trees in particular, for our emotional wellbeing.

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The Science

Inhale phytoncides…

Trees release antimicrobial compounds called phytoncides. Hugging a tree and breathing in forest air lets you absorb these.

Lower stress hormones…

Breathing phytoncides reduces cortisol and adrenaline, helping you feel calmer.

Calm your nervous system…

Lower stress hormones activate relaxation responses in your body.

Decrease blood pressure…

This relaxation can lower your heart rate and blood pressure, supporting cardiovascular health.

Boost mood and cognition…

Nature exposure and phytoncides together can lift your mood, reduce anxiety, enhance creativity, and improve focus.

A Metaphor for Growth and Resilience

 

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Trees communicate through underground networks of fungal threads, called mycorrhizal networks, which act like a “wood wide web” to share resources and warning signals. They also communicate through airborne chemical signals, like volatile organic compounds, and through root intertangling.

Have you ever looked up in a wood and noticed how the trees leave a little space between their branches and that of another? They do this through a phenomenon called crown shyness, which is thought to be an adaptation for several reasons:

While the exact causes are still debated by scientists, these potential benefits suggest it’s an evolutionary advantage for certain trees.  There are core parallels with social anxiety in humans, for example I might use trees to talk about…

 

• Protective boundaries: Trees exhibit crown shyness to prevent the spread of disease, reduce physical damage from abrasion, and ensure access to vital light. Similarly, a person with social anxiety creates psychological “gaps” between themselves and others to protect against perceived threats like judgment, criticism, or emotional harm.
• Optimum growth: Trees that practice crown shyness maximize their individual access to sunlight, which is necessary for healthy growth. For humans, social anxiety can be a strategy to optimize a kind of “internal” resource. By avoiding painful social interactions, a person attempts to protect their emotional and psychological well-being, often at the cost of their connection with others.
• The invisible threat: One theory suggests that trees sense the presence of neighbouring foliage through specific light wavelengths and deliberately stop their outward growth. This mirrors how a person with social anxiety can perceive and react to subtle, often imagined, social cues. They stop their “growth” toward others based on a finely tuned sensitivity to perceived threats, even when no actual danger is present.
• The “forest” ecosystem: Crown shyness is a cooperative behaviour that benefits the entire forest, allowing for better light penetration for all the trees. This can help someone see how their guardedness, while protective, might also be part of a larger, perhaps unhelpful, pattern in their social ecosystem. It can also open a dialogue about how their boundaries affect those around them.