Daily Tiny Habit: 3–5 minutes of forest bathing

Tiny habit in action

• After your main meal of the day, step outside to a nearby green space (a small park, a tree-lined street, or a single tree you can see clearly).

• Stand or walk slowly for 3–5 minutes.

• Take 5–10 slow belly breaths, in through the nose and out through the mouth, letting your exhale be slightly longer than your inhale.

• Gently rest your attention on one natural element (a tree trunk, leaf, patch of sky) and notice color, texture, temperature and sound.
  

Health benefits in brief

Even short forest-bathing sessions (often 15–20 minutes of slow walking or viewing) have been shown to:​

• Reduce blood pressure and heart rate, lower stress hormones like cortisol, and shift the nervous system toward relaxation.

• Improve mood and reduce anxiety, depression, anger, fatigue and burnout, while increasing feelings of vigor and life satisfaction.

• Support immune function (e.g., boosting natural killer cell activity) for days to weeks after a session, and improve sleep quality.

Your 3–5 minute daily practice is a starter version; as it becomes automatic, you can occasionally let it stretch into a 15–20 minute slow walk among trees to deepen these effects.