久居城市？也許你需要「森林浴」
There is a paradox with living as a human nowadays.
如今，現在的人們活著，容易產生一種悖論。
A 2014 article from the United Nations states that about 54 percent of the human population lives in urban areas (more by now), a proportion that is projected to increase to 66 percent by 2050.
聯合國2014年的一篇文章指出，約有54％的人口居住在城市地區（目前更多），預計到2050年將增加到66％。
By 2045, the report says, more than six billion people will crowd cities.
到2045年，報告稱，超過60億人們會擠占城市。
People flock to cities for obvious reasons, all very understandable: more job opportunities; more choices; more culture and cultural diversity; larger communities.
人們湧入城市的原因很明顯，又很容易理解：更多的就業機會;更多的選擇;更多的文化和文化多樣性;更大的社區群體。
Yet, and this is the paradox, living in a crowded, concrete-walled, green-poor, urban environment takes something away from our very essence, our primal need to be close to nature.
然而，這就是悖論，生活在一個擁擠的，混凝土牆所包圍的，綠色貧瘠的城市環境中，遠離我們的本質，我們最初的需要是接近自然。
An EPA study found that Americans spend approximately 90 percent of their time indoors, where the concentrations of some air pollutants can be 2 times to 5 times higher than outdoors.
美國環保局的一項研究發現，美國人大約有90％的時間花在室內，其中一些空氣污染物的濃度可能比室外高2至5倍。
Essentially, we spend our lives in cages breathing bad air.
基本上，我們把生命用來在籠子里呼吸不良空氣。
Too much grey, black, and white — and not enough immersion in greens and blues.
太多的灰色，黑色和白色——不足的綠色和藍色。
It is no wonder that many large cities take landscaping seriously, adding parks and green areas wherever possible.
難怪許多大城市都認真對待園林綠化，並儘可能增加公園和綠地。
We can"t quite sever the link with our evolutionary past and part ways with our origins.
我們不能完全切斷與我們的進化歷史的聯繫，也不能與我們的起源分道揚鑣。
We are, after all, animals, and it"s hard to forget that, even if some try real hard, surrounding themselves with walls, metal, glass, and screens.
畢竟，我們是動物，而且很難忘記這點，即使有些人真的很努力地用牆、金屬、玻璃和屏幕環繞自己。
Those people tend to pay a price, often with their health and quality of life.
那些人往往會為他們的健康和生活質量付出代價。
In Japan, the country that has the highest population density in the world but also vast expanses of green forests (about 3,000 miles of them), an ancient tradition tries to balance out the crush from urban living.
日本是世界人口密度最高的國家，但也有廣闊的綠色森林（約3000英里），人們試圖用古老的傳統平衡城市生活的壓力。
It"s known as shinrin-yoku, or "forest bathing."
它被稱為shinrin-yoku，或「森林浴」。
It"s the practice of spending prolonged periods of time with trees in order to gain from their many health benefits.
這是為了使健康受益而花費很長時間培育大量樹木的做法。
In a book hitting shelves this month, Forest Bathing: How Trees Can Help You Find Health And Happiness, Dr. Qing Li, the world"s foremost expert in forest medicine, introduces readers to the healing practice of forest bathing — and the art and science of how trees can enrich your life.
在本月上架的一本書中，《森林浴：樹是如何幫助你找到健康和幸福的》，世界首屈一指的森林醫學專家李清博士向讀者介紹了森林浴療法——以及樹木如何豐富你的生活中的藝術和科學。
(There are other books on forest bathing that I also recommend, including the recently released Your Guide to Forest Bathing, by M. Amos Clifford, focusing on the more meditative side of shinrin-yoku.)
（我還推薦了其他一些有關森林沐浴的書籍，其中包括最近發布的由M. Amos Clifford發表的「森林沐浴指南」，著重介紹shinrin-yoku的更加沉思的一面。）
Dr. Li"s book is itself a tribute to forests and the magnificence of trees, featuring more than 100 color photographs of forests around the world.
李博士的這本書本身就是對森林和樹木的輝煌的讚揚，展示了全世界100多幅森林彩色照片。
One may dismiss this kind of book as yet more pseudoscience babble, but the point is that Li has not just practiced shinrin-yoku, but has also studied its impact on people"s health through numerous scientific studies.
有人可能會把這種書看作是更偽科學的喋喋不休，但問題是，李博士不僅親身實踐了森林浴，而且還通過大量的科學研究研究了它對人們健康的影響。
He has data to support his claims, collected in a long list of peer-reviewed articles at the end of the book.
他有數據支持他的主張，收集在本書最後的一系列經過同行評議的文章中。
He is a medical doctor at the Tokyo"s Nippon Medical School, and has been a visiting fellow at Stanford University School of Medicine, among other appointments and leadership roles.
他是東京日本醫科大學的醫學博士，並曾擔任斯坦福大學醫學院的訪問學者以及其他任命和領導職務。
Here is the scoop: Forest bathing reduces stress, anxiety, depression, and anger.
這裡是獨家新聞：森林沐浴減輕壓力，焦慮，抑鬱和憤怒。
The book lists studies that consistently show a substantial reduction of stress hormones.
該書列出的研究始終顯示應激激素的顯著減少。
Essential tree oils, such as phytoncides found in forest air (pine trees and cypress tend to be the richest), increase energy levels by more than 30 percent.
在森林空氣中發現的樹脂（松樹和柏樹往往是最富有的）能夠使能量水平提高30％以上。
Aromatherapy enthusiasts know well that such tree oils conjure a general state of well-being, capturing the essence of forest bathing.
香薰愛好者非常清楚，這種樹脂喚起了一般人的幸福感，捕捉了森林沐浴的精髓。
There is improvement in sleep (an average increase by 15 percent after a two-hour forest walk), a boost of the immune system and in cardiovascular health, and better parasympathetic response (rest-and-recover). The health and emotional benefits are plentiful.
睡眠有改善（經過兩小時森林散步後平均增加15％），提高免疫系統和心血管健康，以及更好的副交感神經反應（休息和恢復）。健康和情緒上的好處是豐富的。
Lest urban-based readers feel discouraged, forest bathing doesn"t require huge expanses to be effective.
為了防止城市讀者感到沮喪，森林浴不需要巨大的擴張就能有效。
Walks in parks, house plants, aromatherapy focused on cypress and other tree oils, all offer a degree of benefits.
在公園漫步，室內植物，專註於柏樹和其他樹脂的芳香療法，都有一定的好處。
Li, for example, confesses that living in Tokyo has changed his practice and he now contends with lunchtime walks in a shrine next to his work.
例如，李博士承認住在東京改變了他的做法，他現在主張午餐時間在他的工作旁邊的一個神社中散步。
Anyone, with some degree of effort, can find a way to mingle with nature, in a city or not.
任何人在某種程度上都可以找到一種與大自然融合的方式，無論在不在一個城市。
As the philosopher Alan Watts once wrote, "You didn"t come into this world. You came out of it, like a wave from the ocean. You are not a stranger here."
正如哲學家艾倫·瓦茨曾經寫道：「你沒有走進這個世界，你從它裡面出來，就像海洋中的波濤，對這裡不陌生。」
Scientific results apart, the notion of shinrin-yoku shouldn"t be so surprising.
除了科學的結果之外，shinrin-yoku的概念也不應該那麼令人驚訝。
Who hasn"t felt an inner sense of well-being when walking along a forest trail, the sun filtering through the leaves to create a kaleidoscope of light and shadows on the ground?
當沿著森林小徑行走時，誰還沒有感受到一種內心的幸福，陽光透過樹葉的照射，在地面上創造出萬花筒般的光影?
We take these walks to feel rejuvenated, more attuned to our bodies, to refresh our minds.
我們通過這些散步來恢復活力，更適應我們的身體，重新振作起來。
Stepping into a forest, or just into a small grove, is like pushing a life reset button, reestablishing a connection with our deepest needs.
踏入森林，或者只是進入一片小樹林，就像按下生命重置按鈕，重建與我們最深層需求的聯繫。
It"s hard not to feel something viscerally meaningful as we surround ourselves by trees, away from the artificial sounds and smells of urban life.
當我們被樹木包圍，遠離人造的聲音和城市生活的氣味時，我們很難不去感受一些有意義的東西。
Having spent the first decades of my life in big cities, I feel privileged to now live surrounded by trees, including lots of fragrant pines.
在大城市度過了我人生的頭幾十年，我感到很榮幸能住在樹木環繞的地方，包括許多芳香的松樹。
In fact, to celebrate this wonderful book, and what seems to be a rediscovery of shinrin-yoku in our lives, I"m going to go now — to take my forest bath.
實際上，為了慶祝這本精彩的書，以及在我們生活中似乎重新發現了shinrin-yoku，我現在要去——森林浴。
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