We spend a lot of time talking about what we need to do for our health.Exercise more. Eat well. Get enough protein. Improve our sleep. Manage stress. Get our steps.
But sometimes supporting our health isn’t about doing more. Sometimes it’s about creating an environment that allows our bodies and minds to slow down. That is where the concept of forest bathing comes in.
Despite the name, there is no water involved. Forest bathing, or Shinrin-yoku, is a Japanese practice centered around intentionally spending time immersed in a forest environment.
It isn’t necessarily hiking, trail running or exercising outdoors. There is no pace to maintain, distance to cover or fitness goal to accomplish. Instead, the purpose is to slow down and experience the environment around you through your senses.
And while the idea may sound almost too simple, researchers have been studying the physiological and psychological effects of spending time in forests and other natural environments for decades.
What Exactly Is Forest Bathing?
The Japanese term Shinrin-yoku translates roughly to “taking in the forest atmosphere.”
The concept became popular in Japan during the 1980s as interest grew in the relationship between natural environments, stress and health.
Forest bathing generally involves spending quiet, intentional time in a wooded environment while paying attention to what is happening around you.
You might walk slowly.
You might sit under a tree.
You might notice the temperature of the air, the smell of the forest, sunlight moving through the leaves or the sound of birds and wind.
The key difference between forest bathing and hiking is intention.
When we hike, we often have a destination.
When we trail run, we’re monitoring pace, heart rate, terrain or distance.
When we’re forest bathing, there is nowhere we need to get to.
The experience itself is the goal.
Why Might Nature Affect Our Stress Response?
One of the most interesting areas of forest-bathing research involves the autonomic nervous system.
Our autonomic nervous system helps regulate processes we don’t consciously control, including heart rate, blood pressure, digestion and aspects of our stress response. Two major components are the sympathetic and parasympathetic nervous systems.
The sympathetic nervous system helps prepare us to respond to challenges. Heart rate increases, alertness rises and the body becomes ready for action.
The parasympathetic nervous system is more closely associated with resting, digesting and recovering.
We need both.
The problem isn’t that sympathetic activation is bad. Exercise itself temporarily increases sympathetic activity.
The issue is that modern life can expose us to a near-constant stream of stimulation: work demands, notifications, traffic, screens, deadlines and mental multitasking.
Forest environments appear to provide a very different type of sensory input. Research comparing forest environments with urban environments has found that spending time in forests can be associated with greater parasympathetic nervous system activity and lower sympathetic activity.
In simple terms, the body may begin shifting toward a more relaxed physiological state.
Forest Bathing and Cortisol
Cortisol is one of the hormones involved in our stress response.
Again, cortisol isn’t inherently bad. We need it. Cortisol naturally fluctuates throughout the day and plays important roles in metabolism, immune regulation and our response to physical and psychological stress.
But researchers can use cortisol measurements as one way of examining how different environments influence the body’s stress response.
Studies and systematic reviews examining forest bathing have reported reductions in cortisol following exposure to forest environments. That doesn’t mean walking through a forest magically “balances your hormones” or eliminates stress. It suggests something much more reasonable:
Our environment can influence our physiology.
Removing ourselves temporarily from a stimulating environment and spending quiet time in nature may help reduce physiological arousal.
What About Blood Pressure and Heart Rate?
Forest exposure has also been studied in relation to cardiovascular measures.
Research has found that forest bathing may produce small reductions in blood pressure and heart rate, particularly among people who begin with higher blood pressure. Part of this effect may simply come from slowing down.
You’re walking gently.
You’re breathing normally.
You’re away from traffic and screens.
Your attention isn’t constantly being pulled in different directions.
But those are not insignificant factors.
Our health is influenced not only by intense interventions but also by the environments and routines we repeatedly expose ourselves to.
Forest bathing shouldn’t be considered a treatment for hypertension or cardiovascular disease, but spending regular time in natural environments may be one supportive lifestyle behavior within a much larger picture of cardiovascular health.
Nature May Give the Brain a Different Kind of Rest
Physical recovery isn’t the only potential benefit. Our brains are constantly processing information.
Reading emails, responding to messages, driving, working and navigating busy environments all require what psychologists often call directed attention. Directed attention takes effort.
Natural environments appear to engage our attention differently.
Instead of forcing ourselves to concentrate on one specific task, our attention can move more gently between sounds, movement, light and other features of the environment.
You notice a bird.
You hear leaves moving.
You watch sunlight coming through the trees.
Your brain is still engaged, but it isn’t necessarily working in the same demanding way.
This idea is often discussed within Attention Restoration Theory, which proposes that natural environments may help restore our capacity for directed attention.
Research into nature exposure has found associations with improved attention, cognitive function and mental wellbeing, although the size of these effects and the mechanisms behind them are still being investigated.
Forest Bathing and Mental Health
Perhaps one of the most consistent findings in nature research involves mood. Studies examining forest bathing and exposure to green environments have reported improvements in measures of:
Anxiety
Tension
Fatigue
Anger
Depressive mood
Overall feelings of wellbeing
That doesn’t mean forest bathing should replace therapy, medication or professional mental-health treatment when those are needed. But it does suggest that our surroundings can be one component of supporting psychological wellbeing.
There is something fundamentally different about spending 30 minutes looking at trees compared with spending those same 30 minutes scrolling through a phone.
The Interesting Role of Phytoncides
There is another part of forest-bathing research that I find fascinating, although this is also an area where we need to be careful about making claims.
Trees and plants release volatile organic compounds into the air. Some of these are known as phytoncides. These compounds help plants protect themselves from certain microorganisms and environmental threats.
When we’re in a forest, we’re exposed to small amounts of these airborne compounds. Some research, particularly from Japan, has investigated whether exposure to forest environments and phytoncides could influence aspects of human immune function, including the activity of natural killer cells, which are part of our immune system.
Some small studies have reported increases in natural killer cell activity following multi-day forest trips. It’s an intriguing area of research. But it is far too early to translate that into claims that forest bathing “boosts your immune system” or prevents disease.
For now, I see phytoncide research as another fascinating example of how much we still have to learn about the relationship between humans and the environments in which we evolved.
Do You Need an Actual Forest?
Probably not.
Much of the original research specifically examines forest environments, but broader research into green-space exposure also suggests benefits for physical and psychological wellbeing. That means you don’t necessarily need access to a huge national forest.
A wooded park can work.
A quiet nature trail can work.
Even spending time in a green space with trees may provide some of the same benefits. What probably matters most is creating some separation from the stimulation of everyday life. And that brings us to an important point.
Walking through a forest while answering emails, checking social media and listening to notifications every two minutes probably isn’t quite the same experience.
Your surroundings may have changed, but your brain is still connected to the same sources of stimulation.
How Long Do You Need?
There isn’t a scientifically established “perfect dose” of forest bathing.
Some studies have examined relatively short forest visits, while others have looked at several hours or even multi-day experiences.
Research on nature exposure more broadly suggests that even relatively short periods outside may have measurable psychological benefits. A practical starting point might be 20–30 minutes. But don’t turn that into another health rule. You don’t need to set a timer and worry that 17 minutes somehow doesn’t count. The goal is simply to create regular opportunities to slow down in a natural environment.
How to Practice Forest Bathing
Choose a forest, wooded trail, park or quiet green space where you feel comfortable. Then intentionally remove the performance component.
Don’t worry about steps.
Don’t worry about pace.
Don’t worry about calories burned.
Put your phone away when possible.
Walk slowly.
Pay attention to what you hear.
Notice the temperature of the air.
Look at the light moving through the trees.
Notice the smell of the ground, plants or trees.
Stop somewhere if you want to.
Sit for a few minutes.
Take slow, comfortable breaths without forcing a specific breathing technique.
You aren’t trying to accomplish anything.
That is actually the point.
Forest Bathing Is Not Exercise — and That’s Okay
This distinction is particularly important for people who love being active outdoors.
I love mountains, trails, running and hiking. Being outside is often where I choose to challenge myself physically. But not every moment in nature needs to become training. There are days when the trail is where we push our bodies. And there should also be days when nature is where we allow them to recover. Those two experiences can coexist.
A challenging mountain hike provides enormous benefits for cardiovascular fitness, muscular strength and endurance. A slow walk through the woods may provide something different: an opportunity to reduce stimulation, shift attention and create space for mental and physiological recovery.
Health needs both challenge and recovery.
The Bigger Picture
Forest bathing isn’t a cure. It isn’t going to replace exercise, good nutrition, adequate sleep, meaningful relationships or appropriate medical care. And we should be skeptical when something as simple as spending time in nature is marketed as a solution for every health problem.
But we also shouldn’t dismiss simple behaviors just because they aren’t complicated. Humans spent almost all of our evolutionary history living in much closer contact with natural environments than most of us experience today. Modern life has changed our surroundings dramatically and very quickly.
We spend more time indoors.
We sit more.
We look at screens for hours.
We’re exposed to artificial light, traffic, notifications and constant information.
Taking 20 or 30 minutes to walk among trees won’t undo all of that.
But it may provide our nervous system with something modern life doesn’t always give us very often:
quiet.
So the next time you head into the woods, consider leaving the pace goals behind.
Walk slowly.
Look around.
Listen.
Breathe.
And for a little while, let being in nature be enough.