We’re hardly short of trending ways to boost mindfulness and increase mental resilience. Whether it’s a sound bath, sleep-maxxing, or color walking, wellness trends know how to reel us in.
One that I see cropping up often now that spring is approaching? Nature bathing. The calm, mindful experience of melting away into nature is free, accessible and the perfect nervous system reset, which is why it is trending up. Here are some of the benefits of nature bathing, what it really means and how you can get started.
What is ‘nature bathing’?
Certified sound healer and co-founder of Spa Ceylon, Shalin Balasuriya, says, “Nature bathing is simply the act of intentionally slowing down in a natural environment and allowing your senses to reset. It’s not about hiking or clocking steps. It’s about disengaging from constant digital stimulation and re-engaging with something organic and steady.”
“When we’re surrounded by greenery, the body naturally shifts into a calmer state. Breathing deepens. Heart rate slows. Cortisol levels begin to drop. This supports mental clarity, emotional balance and better sleep.”
Shalin Balasuriya, Spa Ceylon co-founder
This could simply mean walking around your local park without your phone and focusing on your breathing. It could mean resting beneath a tree or sitting on the grass and trying to notice the colors, sounds, smells and textures around you.
“When we’re surrounded by greenery, the body naturally shifts into a calmer state. Breathing deepens. Heart rate slows. Cortisol levels begin to drop. This supports mental clarity, emotional balance and better sleep.” In short, nature bathing is a simple way to “recalibrate the nervous system.”
If you can, switch your phone to airplane mode and stay rooted in your surroundings. If you live in a bustling city, this might be harder to immediately access; in this case, try to find micro-moments by venturing for a walk in your local park rather than woodland or a forest, or even sit in your garden and touch the grass.
The connection between sensory rituals and emotional wellbeing has been studied. For example, a 2019 study published in Frontiers in Psychology found that spending as little as 20 minutes with nature can lower stress hormones and promote calm.
Another 2019 study involving 20,000 people showed that 120 minutes per week spent in nature is associated with good health and wellbeing. And research shows a connection between lower cortisol levels and those who head to forests to breathe in the forest air rather than walk outdoors in an urban environment.
We have two strands of the autonomic nervous system: sympathetic and parasympathetic. The former is the switched-on mode often associated with fight-or-flight, when the body is primed for survival or action, in simple terms. The latter is the state of calm, rest and repair: the heart rate is lower, cortisol levels are reduced and we are primed for relaxation.
Although there’s a need for the sympathetic nervous system to keep us alive in dangerous situations, we also need to spend more time in the parasympathetic system to help the body stay regulated. Nature has been found to help do this, so nature bathing could be your next go-to the next time you’re feeling overly digitally stimulated and in need of an emotional reset.
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