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Show Volume XXIII Issue XVI The Ogden Valley news Page 11 September 15, 2016 A Tree-lined Path to Good Health World’s Leading Off-Road Triathlon & Some researchers are exploring how to By Carrie Madren make forests even more healthful. Researchers Trail Running Races Return to Ogden Strolling among green giants gives us bal- at the Finnish Forest Research Institute creance and perspective. That calming quiet we find in forests is one reason we seek out natural areas for restoration and renewal. For those with an affinity for forests, it may come as no surprise that these natural hallows possess the ability to strengthen and heal us. Renowned landscape architect Frederick Law Olmsted believed that people need contact with nature to lead a healthy, balanced life. Now, researchers and experts around the world are backing up these notions with facts. Forests have much to offer in maintaining good health as well as recovery and relief for the unwell. Green tracts have been shown to reduce stress, lower blood pressure, strengthen immune systems, and help those struggling with conditions such as attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). “Forests provide enormous possibilities to improve human health conditions,” wrote researcher Eeva Karjalainen of the Finnish Forest Research Institute in a 2010 scientific review. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention promote National Trails Day in part because “the presence of natural settings can have soothing and healthful effects. Some people will feel better and heal faster when they are exposed to landscapes that have a natural character.” It’s no wonder, then, that many rehabilitation and retreat centers border forests and natural lands. To dig deeper into these healthful possibilities, American Forests looks at some of the science that links forests and well-being. Opportunity for Exercise - Moving around a forest requires us to walk, run, climb, bike, or otherwise propel ourselves. “People in forests are more likely to be standing than sitting and tend to walk more than they would normally walk, and in ways that expend more energy, as opposed to walking on a sidewalk or floor,” says Geoffrey Godbey, professor emeritus of the Department of Recreation, Park, and Tourism Management at Penn State University, who has studied and written on the health benefits of forests and parks. Spending time in a forest also means people are not doing what they would normally do. Many of us spend our days indoors, working at sedentary jobs. When we get home, some of us just want to relax. “Generally, people who are outside expend more calories than people who are inside,” says Godbey, who through the years has planted some 70 trees on his two-acre property near State College, Pennsylvania. Forests offer endless opportunities to stretch, move, and train our muscles and other bodily systems, all of which help us fight disease, prevent injuries, and maintain a healthy lifestyle. “But forests offer more than just the potential for exercise,” says Linda Kruger, a research social scientist at the U.S. Forest Service’s Pacific Northwest Research Station in Juneau, Alaska. Researchers around the world have found that natural areas offer a unique setting that can lighten our mood, improve our physical wellness, boost our ability to fight disease, and refresh our harried minds. Combating Stress - It’s widely known that stress leaves us more vulnerable to illness. High stress factors into heart attacks, illnesses, and, some people believe, cancer. “You get a cold when you inhale a virus, but your ability to fight off the virus is minimized by high stress levels, and your auto-immune systemdoesn’t work as well,” says Godbey. Strolling through—or even gazing at— forests can lower stress levels, says Godbey, who points to a 1984 study conducted by Roger Ulrich at Texas A&M University. Ulrich observed patients recovering from gallbladder surgery. One group’s hospital room windows looked out onto a brick wall; another group’s had a natural, green vista. The patients who were able to view nature recovered faster and had fewer complications than the patients who had a view of a building. Similarly, a 2007 study published in the Scandinavian Journal of Forest Research compared job satisfaction and job stress for 931 Seoul office workers, about half with window views of trees and half without. Those workers with views of trees reported significantly less job stress and significantly more job satisfaction, no matter their age, gender, or job category. “People with less access to nature are more prone to stress and anxiety, as reflected not only [in] individuals’ self-report but also [in] measures of pulse rate, blood pressure, and stress-related patterns of nervous system and endocrine system anxiety, as well as physiciandiagnosed anxiety disorders,” wrote Frances Kuo, director of the Landscape and Human Health Laboratory at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, in a research report for the National Association of Parks and Recreation. One study by Kuo even showed that greenery has enough of a calming effect to reduce crime. At one Chicago public housing development, there were significantly fewer crime incidents in and around buildings surrounded by trees and greenery than in a nearby identical building surrounded by barren land. ated a well-being-themed forest trail. To help hikers get the most from their walk, signposts offer suggestions such as: “Listen to one of the voices of nature, the changes in the soundscape or the silence. … You may squat down and feel a plant, a rock, or the surface of a tree. Feel your mood improve.” “According to our questionnaire, a majority of the visitors felt that the trail enhanced their restorative experience and improved their mood,” says Tytti Sarjala, senior researcher at the institute. Though the potential for preventive medicine is huge, the relationship between health and forests is often downplayed or ignored. Godbey suggests that since healthcare is among the largest expenditures by Americans, there’s an untapped health asset in forests that has tangible economic value, “but the case hasn’t been made yet.” Something in the Air - In Japan, researchers are finding strong medical connections between being in a forest and having a healthy immune system. In one Japanese tradition— shinrinyoku, or forest bathing—individuals spend time in a forest to relieve stress and strengthen their immune system. According to Yoshifumi Miyazaki, a professor at the Center for Environment, Health, and Field Sciences at Chiba National University in Japan, forest bathing has “preventive medical effects” such as relieving stress and recovering an immune system that has declined due to stress. He adds, “Artificialization is taking place at such a rapid rate that we now find ourselves in stressful situations in our daily lives and are forced to deal with the resultant pressure.” Proponents of forest bathing assert that a short trip to a forest offers relaxation as well as natural aromatherapy in the form of antimicrobial organic compounds derived from trees: woodessential oils called phytoncides. In 2009, Qing Li from Nippon Medical School in Tokyo published a paper highlighting a series of studies that followed groups who took a three-day/two-night trip to forested areas. Researchers took blood and urine samples at various intervals. Li found that an individual’s levels of natural killer cells—a type of white blood cell that releases anticancer proteins to attack tumors and cells infected by viruses—were significantly higher on the forest bathing days. Moreover, natural killer-cell levels stayed elevated for 30 days after the trip. In addition, Li found that levels of urine adrenaline, which the body releases in response to anxiety, had dropped after forest bathing trips—a sign that forests lower stress. Li’s findings suggest a monthly “forest bathing trip” would help people maintain a higher level of natural killer-cell activity. “Forest bathing trips have become a popular and recognized relaxation and stress management activity in Japan,” says Li. Though the forests in Li’s research held Japanese cypress, Japanese cedar, and Japanese beech, he said that other types of forests should have similar effects, though researchers haven’t yet studied other tree species’ phytoncides. In a similar 2005 study in Japan, Miyazaki and colleagues conducted week-long studies in 44 different forest sites throughout Japan. In one study, groups took a seat in the forest to absorb natural surroundings, while an urban-based control group viewed city life. Researchers found the forest group to have decreases in cortisol (stress hormone) levels, sympathetic nervous activity, blood pressure, and heart rate; parasympathetic nervous activity was enhanced by 55 percent, indicating a relaxed biological system. “This proves that stressful states can be relieved by forest therapy,” Miyazaki says. A Renewed Mind - “Just being around living green things has an effect mentally and emotionally,” says Linda Kruger, who takes advantage of the numerous trails near Juneau. A number of studies have examined the effects of natural settings on children with attention deficit disorders and found that spending time in green areas helps calm their symptoms. In one, seven- to eleven-year-olds with ADHD showed improved concentration after taking a 20-minute guided walk in a park, as opposed to 20-minute walks in a downtown area or an urban park. “A lot of times, kids will respond to being out in nature and will do better in school if they have “green breaks”—a chance to walk through the forest during the day,” says Kruger. “It helps them to have better mental functioning during the school day.” Many people accustomed to encountering forests and green spaces on a regular basis feel a subconscious yearning to get outdoors. Says Kruger, “When I don’t get out, I get restless, and mentally, I don’t function as well; physically and mentally, I feel better if I can spend time out in the forest every day or two.” Note: The above article was originally printed by American Forests in their Autumn 2011 publication and is being used by permission. The original article, by Carrie Madren, can be viewed at <www.americanforests.org/ magazine/article/a-tree-lined-path-to-goodhealth/> Valley Sixth Grade Blood Drive Need to lose some weight before the holidays? One pint of blood equals 3,500 calories, so donate a pint and lose a pound! Where? When? Time? Who? Valley Elementary School October 26, 2016 (Wednesday) 1:00 to 6:15 p.m. in the Valley Elementary School Gym Must be 18 years old or older, and healthy. Other questions? Check with Mountain Star Mobile Blood Unit. Blood drive makes blood free for Valley residents and students if it is ever needed. Please come and support this yearly drive! It’s long been said that XTERRA is more than just a race; it’s a lifestyle. Perhaps nowhere is that more evident than in Ogden, Utah where Mayor Mike Caldwell was the founder and race director for the first XTERRA here back in 2004. Mayor Caldwell and a collection of the most welcoming locals to be found anywhere rallied the entire community to bring off-road triathlon to their hometown more than a decade ago and are themselves everyday XTERRA people. They swim, bike, and run in the mountains; have fun; eat well; laugh; and unpretentiously perpetuate the sports’ motto to “Live More.” “XTERRA is a unique event for our community that has grown and progressed into a world class event,” said Caldwell. “It is a huge part of our community’s DNA. These athletes and race organizers have become part of our family, providing an opportunity for us to form lasting friendships with people from all over the world. Not only do I enjoy the homecoming feel the event brings, it also has great economic impact for Ogden. Our hotels sell out and our restaurants fill up. It is the perfect fit for Ogden, and I look forward to this weekend every year.” Athletes also look forward to this event every year, and more than one-thousand of the very best amateur and professional triathletes and trail runners have traveled to the Beehive State to battle for the title of XTERRA Champion. “We love bringing the XTERRA Tribe together in Utah, the energy level is just incredible,” said Janet Clark, president of XTERRA. “Ogden and Snowbasin are simply the best. Between the facilities at Snowbasin, the great restaurants and atmosphere along Historic 25th Street in Ogden, and the unbelievably supportive community, we can’t ask for a better venue.” The main event, the XTERRA Pan America/ USA Championship triathlon, is the culmination of a series of off-road triathlons spanning South and Central America, Mexico, the Caribbean, Canada, and the U.S. It starts with a one-mile swim in Pineview Reservoir (4,900-feet elevation), follows with an 18-mile mountain bike leg that climbs more than 3,000-feet to the top of Sardine Peak (7,300-feet elevation), and culminates with a 7-mile trail run featuring another 600-feet of climbing on trails around Snowbasin Resort in the Wasatch Range. There is also a half-distance sprint off-road triathlon and relay-team options. This year, for the first-time ever, what has historically been an invite-only race just for U.S. citizens racing in the America Tour, the race is now open to one-and-all. So sign-up and see what XTERRA is all about! The fastest racers in each five-year age group will be honored as the XTERRA Pan American Champion, and the fastest American in each of those divisions will be celebrated as XTERRA’s U.S. National Champion. Opening up the race to all comers means one can expect some of the fastest off-roaders from Canada, and all over the world for that matter, to converge on Ogden for a shot at the crown and a chance to race on one of the World Tour’s most challenging and scenic courses. Snowbasin is an ideal spot for off-road tri in the summer time and when the fall colors turn, the mountain landscape into a kaleidoscope of colors; it’s spectacular. Pros will be competing for $80,000 in prize money, and dozens of cameramen will position themselves around Wheeler Canyon and the Wasatch Range to capture all the action for a nationally syndicated one-hour TV show that exposes the beauty of northern Utah to the masses. (Note: The award-winning XTERRA Adventures TV series, XTERRA USA and World Championship broadcasts are available as a video subscription for Prime members on Amazon Video via the Amazon Video app for TV, connected devices including Fire TV, mobile devices and online at Amazon.com/ XTERRA). The triathlons are Saturday, September 17; and on Sunday, it’s the trail runners turn on the mountain. The XTERRA Trail Run National Championship half-marathon features scenic views, technical trails, and big climbs. The half-marathon, plus the 5K and 10K trail runs, are open to everyone, too, and it’s important to note that you don’t have to be fast to join in the fun. For some, it’s just about finishing and that’s okay as XTERRA is all about perpetuating the healthy, active, outdoors lifestyle. In addition to the races, XTERRA will host an expo in downtown Ogden on Friday with free kids races, vendor booths, the Compex recovery trailer, Outrigger Pavilion featuring prize drawings for free Hawaii stays, Hawaiianthemed treats and kukui nut bracelet making, and, of course, the traditional Paul Mitchell hair cut-a-thon for charity. There is great entertainment to be found at Snowbasin Resort, as well, highlighted by the spontaneous, ecstatic, and sometimes tearjerking displays of emotion at the finish line for the races. This year experience it for yourself. Have a look at the schedule for places and times, and whether you race or not, join in the fun and excitement of XTERRA. For more info and links to register, visit www.xterrautah.com or call toll-free, 877-7518880. Live More! |