Soothing Screen-Induced Anxiety Is Simple: Go Outside

It used to be that everyone wanted to go outside to play. No mas. Nowadays the average teenager spends over nine hours on their phone a day. Adults aren’t far behind them. Much of this is due to the digital nature of our existence, but this screen use coincides with rises in anxiety, depression, and feelings of disconnection.

Japanese clinicians decided in the 1980s to battle urban fatigue with nature. Dubbed shinrin-yoku, or forest bathing, this intervention could be used today for digital detox. It can be done in a forest or an urban park if there are plenty of trees and plants, and it has been proven to improve mental health. Practitioners walk slowly, taking in the sights, sounds, and smells of the environment. Some practices include yoga, meditation, and foraging designed to focus the senses on nature. In this way, shinrin-yoku is very much a mindfulness exercise. Here are some ideas and tips for connecting to nature.

Total immersion in nature: more than 30 minutes

You can find a secluded trail via AllTrails, an app that allows you to download the map in case you find yourself offline. However, if you want to go fully analog (highly encouraged), you can also find an actual trail map (yes, those still exist). If you’re planning to use your phone, you will want to set your phone to Do Not Disturb or Focus because the whole point of getting away is to drop into nature unimpeded by modernity’s distractions. Here's what to do once you're out there:

• Walk the trail as slowly as possible.
• Sink into your senses.
• Think about how the ground feels: soft, hard, rooty? Get descriptive.
• Pull all of your awareness to the sensations of touch, smell, sight, and hearing.
• If there are people nearby, don’t worry. Let their sounds ring like the sounds of nature. Your brain will categorize the sensations automatically; simply observe without judgment.
• Focus on how you feel when you’re taking all of this in.
• If there’s a field, try doing some yoga stretches.
• Find a pleasant place to sit and observe nature and let your thoughts go.
• Naturally, thoughts will arise. Simply observe them, without judgment, as you would the sights, sounds, and smells of nature.
• Don’t forget to bring plenty of water, snacks, and sun protection.

Forget afternoon coffee and try a shinrin-yoku micro-break: 10 to 20 minutes

Our days can get very busy, and full of distractions. Sustained focus, screen time, and a barrage of distractions à la notifications will inevitably wear us down. To recharge, take a 10- to 20-minute shinrin-yoku break. It’s very simple. Perhaps there’s a park or greenspace near your office. Go there and do this:

• Focus first on your breathing, inhaling for four seconds, holding at the top for four seconds, exhaling for four seconds, and holding at the bottom for four seconds. Rinse and repeat for a few minutes.
• Shift your attention to five plants you can see. Don’t focus too much. Just let your mind go; it will naturally categorize.
• Shift your attention to four sounds you can hear (hopefully some birds and bugs). Don’t focus too much. Just let your mind go; it will naturally categorize.
• Shift your attention to three things you can feel with your hands and skin. Perhaps this is the air on your skin, the temperature, and the feel of the grass or gravel.
• Shift your attention to your sense of smell. Notice two things.
• Shift your attention to your sense of taste. Notice one thing.
• Shift your attention to the interior of your body. How does it feel? Observe without judgment.
• Shift your attention to your mental activities. Observe without judgment the content of your thoughts or emotions. Just see them as thoughts, noting that you’re not your thoughts, you just think them.
• Shift your attention to your sense of interconnectedness by observing that you are sitting outside, connected to the earth and this moment in time.
• If you need a timer, you can use your phone or your watch, but be mindful to set it to Do Not Disturb. You deserve 10 to 20 minutes of uninterrupted time. And don’t worry, the world can do its own spinning.

Perhaps you don’t have access to green space during the day. No worries. You can recreate one in your workspace with pictures, plants, infusion sticks, or candles (if permissible). In fact, the University of Michigan did a study that showed people’s concentration improved simply by looking at pictures of nature, and NASA has backed this study up, adding that sounds of nature also reduce stress.

• Bring in some sounds of nature. (The OneSquareInch site (https://onesquareinch.org/) is a good option.)
• Find a window or a picture.
• Display indoor plants on your desk, such as succulents, ferns, or pieces of hinoki wood.
• Use a diffuser, as smells of hinoki, sage, pine, and lavender will all help ease your senses.
• Practice the micro-break tips listed above in your workspace.

Around the Home

Our homes, both indoors and out, can be sanctuaries for peace. Perhaps you have a yard where you can create a space for shinrin-yoku. You can follow the steps outlined above in your home environment, but at home you can also remove your shoes and let your bare feet feel the earth. Indoors, incorporate houseplants—the only limits are space and budget—and, as suggested above, add pictures of nature and soothing diffusers.