UPFRONT

Forest bathing–it really can make you feel better

Forest bathing—where you spend time in nature—really does work. Two hours a week in a forest, glade or park will improve your sense of wellbeing, a new study has discovered.

Those two hours don’t have to be from one visit; the time can be spread over the week, and you’ll still get similar health benefits, say researchers from the University of Exeter who looked at the health and lifestyles of around 20,000 people.

Time in woodlands, town parks, beaches and other natural areas will all reap rewards, provided that you spend 120 minutes or more in them each week.

That seems to be the threshold, and people who reported spending less time than that in nature each week also reported lower levels of psychological wellbeing.

Most of the participants found their natural setting less than two miles from their home, and even local urban greenspaces seem to work, says researcher Matthew White. is hopefully a realistic target for many people, especially as it can be spread over an entire week,” he added.

The idea of nature having therapeutic value has been adopted by the Japanese, who call it shinrin-yoku, or “forest bathing.” It’s been proven to reduce stress and anxiety, the researchers say.

Sci Rep, 2019; 9: 7730

CANNABIS DERIVATIVE IS BEATING THE SUPERBUGS

The benefits of cannabidiol or CBD—a derivative of cannabis and hemp plants—just keep multiplying. It’s been used to treat epilepsy and pain, and researchers have now discovered it’s a very powerful antibiotic, even against serious infections.

It’s as effective as some of the front-line antibiotics, such as vancomycin and daptomycin, and is a genuine answer to the antibiotic-resistant ‘superbugs,’ say researchers at the University of Queensland in Australia.

They made the discovery almost by accident. They had been testing a synthetic form of CBD on simple skin conditions when they realized it was successfully treating serious staph infections. The cannabidiol continued to be effective over a long time, suggesting the bacteria weren’t becoming resistant.

CBD also works as an anti-inflammatory, says Dr Mark Blaskovich, the research team leader, and so it can clear up damage caused by the bacterial infection as well.

The most promising news of all is that CBD successfully treats the antibiotic-resistant ‘superbugs,’ he says, and can combat biofilms, a physical form of bacterial growth that leads to hard-to-treat infections.

American Society for Microbiology annual conference, San Francisco, June 23, 2019

Sitting at home increases heart risk (but sitting in the office doesn’t)

When it comes to sitting, the many ways we do it aren’t equal. Although sitting around has been lumped into one big risk factor for heart disease, how—and where—we sit carries different risks.

Sitting at a desk at work doesn’t seem to increase the risk of heart disease, and yet lounging in front of the TV at home does.

Previous studies have concluded that the more sedentary people are, the more likely they are to develop heart disease and suffer an early death.

But researchers from Columbia University’s Irving Medical Center found it wasn’t quite so simple. They tracked the lives of 3,592 black Americans, who are at higher risk of diabetes and heart disease anyway, and found that only sitting at home increased