Why getting your hands dirty is good for you
BBC Future reports Finnish research linking regular skin contact with soil, plants, and moss to richer skin microbiomes and improved immune regulation.
Finnish Environment Institute research found that 20 seconds of rubbing hands with soil, peat, or moss measurably increased skin microbe diversity, though effects faded quickly without repetition. Daycare studies showed children playing on forest-floor yards retained greater microbial diversity and more regulatory T cells a year later, and adults gardening with microbially diverse soil saw increased anti-inflammatory cytokines. The findings support the biodiversity hypothesis linking environmental microbial diversity to immune health.
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