These Bluetooth headphones adapt to the ear. Through test and resonance tones generated by the ear, the nuraphones (used with the nura app) create an individual hearing profile for the wearer and the music and frequencies are adjusted accordingly. Noise cancelling reduces outside sound; vented silicon pads make wearing comfortable. Battery life: approx. 30 hours (around 400 euros, nuraphone.com).
Take a deep breath!
Take a deep breath!
The bonsai fragrance diffuser freshens the air in the home with the scent of a forest. Essences include green tea, tangerine and orange. This design item with a rattan tree sculpture and a ceramic container for the scented oil is offered in three tree variations, all minimalist and stylish (set incl. the scented oil around 95 euros, available at designhousestockholm.com).
Listening to the light
Listening to the light
Why clear space for big speakers when the music can come out of your lamp? The LED lamp Pulse by Sengled has an integrated speaker and can be controlled via Bluetooth or WiFi with an app (for iOS and Android; starter set around 150 euros, sengled.com).
Well done
Well-done
When it comes to cooking meat, temperature and timing are key. Those who want the perfect steak simply use the “Meater” to determine doneness. This wireless thermometer is inserted into the meat and connected with the app on a tablet or smartphone via Bluetooth. Just select the kind of meat, desired degree of doneness, and the cooking method; the app displays the temperatures and estimated cooking time (starting from 89 euros, meater.com).
Form follows function
Form follows function
Clear lines, reduced shapes – in best Bauhaus tradition, this chess game is fully focused on function. The original chess pieces were designed by Bauhaus master Josef Hartwig and fulfill the Bauhaus criteria of practical, durable and beautiful (approx. 190 euros, from connox.de).
Forest bathing has nothing to do with taking a traditional bath. This new wellness method from Japan uses the natural healing powers of the forest. And these have even been proven scientifically.
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Sunbeams slant down through the green leaf canopy. The ground is soft; it smells of tree resin, earth and moss. Somewhere nearby an insect is buzzing and birds are chirping. The forest – is there any more beautiful place to find peace?
Even a simple walk in the woods relaxes your nerves and simultaneously invigorates you like an oxygen shower does. But the effect is incomparably greater when you virtually dive into the forest with all your senses: This wellness trend with its proven therapeutic effects, which is relatively new in Europe, is called forest bathing.
To consciously slow down, smell, hear, feel with your hands, take in the calm of the forest – is all this just once more esoterically inspired fad? „No,“ says Leander Diedrich (33), proprietor of the Romantik Wellnesshotel Diedrich in the Sauerland town of Hallenberg, Germany. „The method comes from Japan and has been scientifically researched extensively there.
At the same time, it has been proven that forest bathing has a health-promoting effect on the human body.“ For this reason, he and his brother offer guided forest tours, accompanied if desired by a yoga teacher or a physiotherapist.
Sensual experience - perceiving and feeling nature.
Taking a bath in the forest means taking a deep breath, soaking up sounds, scents
and colors.
In a study done by Japanese scientists, test subjects were thoroughly examined before and after a several-day forest bathing treatment. The results were astonishing: Adrenaline concentration in the body decreased, while in contrast the number of the body‘s own defense cells increased by about 50 percent. Blood pressure and cortisol levels dropped. The immune system was thus significantly strengthened, while the risk of stress-related diseases of civilization, such as burn-out and heart attack, declined.
This is due in part to the so-called phytoncides, biological agents produced by the plants in the forest and emitted to their environment to provide protection against bacteria. Phytoncides strengthen the immune system in humans. As a result, in Japan the statutory health insurance companies have even included forest bathing as a form of therapy in their catalog of benefits.
When you are forest bathing, you take in impressions of the forest while you are at complete peace, but also as intensely as possible. Breathe in deeply, soak up sounds, scents and colors – so as to be attentive. This process can be enhanced by yoga or breathing exercises. Highly frequented paths don‘t work well for forest bathing. Whether alone or in a group – anyone who would like to try it out once can enjoy the beneficial effect of spending an intensive time in the woods, even without any guidance.
It’s a natural wonder that practically happens in passing: During forest bathing, the trees’ chemical messengers stimulate the human immune system and activate the body’s defenses.
The decisive factor on a walk through the forest lies in the fresh, aromatic and soothing air. The so-called terpenes form the origin of this pleasant fragrance. These are essential oils that the trees exude through their resins. Besides the special aromas, some terpenes also contain alarm scents, the so-called phytoncides. If a tree produces these substances, the surrounding trees react likewise by releasing these messenger substances. For biologists and agricultural researchers, this is proof that trees inform themselves about imminent dangers in this way. For example, as a warning against pests. Depending on the type of attacker, the trees send out the corresponding scent. These notices are passed from tree to tree, so that they can all protect themselves in time and produce the phytoncides which are essential for survival. These scents have an antibacterial effect and are, so to speak, the antibiotics of the tree world. This communication via scent thus primarily serves to immunize and provide health care for the trees. In organic agriculture, phytoncides are used as a natural pesticide.
Besides the chemical messenger substances that you can barely smell, see or hear as a human, the plant world has yet another channel of communication. It has recently been scientifically proven that plants also communicate with each other through sounds. An international research team discovered recurrent crackling sounds in cereal plants. What the scientists initially considered to be sounds of growth, turned out to be a guidepost for re-growing plants. The signals are intended to make it clear to these offspring: Grow over here; there is still room for your roots here. A particularly caring way of communicating with and nurturing the young generation.
Next, the researchers want to find out exactly how these sounds are generated.
Plants and trees seem to have a lot to communicate. The secret codes and unknown communication channels still have to be deciphered. Until then, there is plenty of time for one or another conscious bath in the forest. And anyone who listens carefully can learn a whole new language.
Book tips in this topic:
Clemens G. Arvay: „The Biophilia Effect – A Scientific and Spiritual Exploration of the Healing Bond Between Humans and Nature“, Unabridged Edition, 15,49 Euro
Peter Wohlleben: „The Hidden Life of Trees”, Harper Collins Publishers UK, 9,99 Euro
Dr. Qing Li: „Shinrin-Yoku: The Art and Science of Forest Bathing”, Penguin Life, 11,99 Euro
M. Amos Clifford: “Your Guide to Forest Bathing: Experience the Healing Power of Nature”, Conari Press, 13,50 Euro
