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You’ve done it before, probably as a child: wrapped your arms around a tree trunk, pressed your cheek to the bark, and held on. Maybe you were playing hide-and-seek or pretending the tree could hear you. What you didn’t know then is that the tree was hugging you back, in a sense, flooding your body with the same calming chemistry triggered by human touch.
Studies suggest that tree hugging offers real-world health benefits—from lowering stress hormones to boosting immune function.
What Is Tree Hugging?
Tree hugging, as the name suggests, is the practice of hugging or touching a tree for a period of time. You can maintain contact with the bark with your palms, lean against the trunk, or wrap your arms around it. Tree hugging is also a component of forest bathing, a practice proven to improve mental and physiological health.
