Can immersing oneself in nature serve as "mental disaster prevention"? Forest bathing, outdoor education, and digital detox are spreading in a stressful society.

When you open your smartphone, news, work messages, social media notifications, videos, and advertisements flow in without pause.

Even after finishing work and returning home, we are not necessarily completely "off." We casually browse social media, play videos, read another news article, and before we know it, we are looking at screens until just before we sleep.

Is this a reaction to such a lifestyle?

What is gaining renewed attention worldwide is a method that can be considered very primitive.

Go outside. Walk in the forest. Feel the scent of the wind and soil. Take a little distance from your smartphone.

It doesn't involve using special machines or undergoing advanced training.

However, there is a growing movement to utilize this "time spent in nature" not just as leisure, but as a means to combat stress and cultivate psychological resilience, known as resilience.

In Germany, long-term projects by municipalities have begun, with attempts to regularly take classes out of the classroom and into nature in elementary schools. In the tourism sector, combinations of forest bathing, mindfulness, outdoor activities, and smartphone-free travel are emerging.

Is this just a temporary "healing boom"?

Or is contact with nature becoming a new health infrastructure for us living in a digitized society?

The idea that nature cultivates "mental resilience"

The focus this time is on initiatives across Europe that combine natural experiences with stress management.

One such project is underway in the southern German city of Fürth.

This long-term plan, from April 2026 to December 2029, focuses on children and young people, aiming to develop skills for coping with stress, recognizing one's limits, interpersonal relationships, and the ability to resolve conflicts and problems.

What is interesting is that the approach is not just about "curing stress after feeling it."

The emphasis is on acquiring the ability to manage stress well in daily life from the outset.

In other words,the idea is to build a basic strength to prevent the mind from being pushed to its limits.

Furthermore, the project not only directly implements programs for each child but also trains people working in kindergartens, schools, social education facilities, and community organizations.

By having them bring the methods learned back to their facilities, support can be spread throughout the community rather than ending as a one-time event.

This initiative also symbolizes the shift from mental health measures being "something individuals handle on their own" to "something supported by the entire community."

Children stepping out of the classroom—90 minutes a week of "Draußenschule"

Another intriguing development is taking place at Grundschule Sprötze-Trelde in northern Germany.

Since February 2026, they have been implementing an initiative called "Draußenschule," which can be translated as "outdoor school" or "classroom outside."

The basic idea is very simple.

Once a week, for about 90 minutes.

Children leave their desks and learn in nature, such as forests and grasslands.

However, it's not just a field trip.

The regular learning content, such as math, language, and natural sciences, is connected to the outdoor environment.

They observe plants, measure distances, think about phenomena happening around them, and record their discoveries in a nature observation diary.

The school has been conducting outdoor learning in cooperation with nature parks for some time, and this initiative further develops that experience.

In nature, different events occur compared to the classroom.

The wind blows. Insects appear. The ground is wet. Things don't always go as planned.

Acting while consulting with friends in such situations requires abilities different from memorizing knowledge.

Observation skills, judgment, communication skills, and the ability to respond to unexpected events.

In other words, outdoor education is not just about "learning about nature," but alsopracticing adaptation to changing situations.

There's no need to overthink the word resilience.

Reconsider when things don't go as planned. Find the next method even if you fail. Cooperate with those around you when in trouble.

It is the accumulation of such small experiences that may shape psychological resilience.

Does stress disappear just by going to the forest?

So, does nature really have the power to reduce stress?

In recent years, many studies have been conducted on this theme.

A systematic review summarizing multiple studies on contact with natural environments and forest bathing reported the potential for improvement in indicators such as stress, depressive mood, and anxiety.

Research targeting forest environments has also attempted to measure not only psychological mood evaluations but also physiological indicators related to stress, such as heart rate and blood pressure.

However, there is something to be cautious about here.

It is a leap to think "going to the forest will cure illnesses."

The number of participants and conditions vary by study, and factors such as time spent walking in the forest, amount of exercise, and participants' health status are not standardized.

A review of forest bathing research published in 2026 also showed cautious evaluation, indicating that while there may be a connection with favorable short-term psychological and physiological changes, it is not yet at a stage to definitively state it can prevent or treat cardiovascular or mental disorders.

Therefore, rather than considering forest bathing as a substitute for medical treatment,

it might be more realistic to view it as one option to aid in daily stress management

.

It's neither medicine nor magic.

Still, walking in a nearby park can be incorporated into life with relatively low barriers.

This is a major reason why natural therapy is gaining attention.

The significance of doing something, not just "seeing nature"

In current nature experience programs, many involve more than just sitting and resting in the forest.

Observing plants.

Learning about wild grasses.

Starting a fire.

Solving tasks in cooperation with peers.

Walking.

Focusing on breathing.

Observing the sensations of one's body.

These activities are combined.

Nature is also a vast teaching material for using the five senses.

Living in a city, most of our attention is focused on information on displays.

Reading text. Watching videos. Checking notifications.

On the other hand, walking in the forest disperses the focus of attention.

Feeling the unevenness underfoot, hearing birds' voices, sensing changes in the wind, looking into the distance.

You can step away from the situation of "having to keep concentrating on one thing."

Furthermore, activities like starting a fire or nature observation inevitably focus attention on "what is happening right now."

This is also close to the concept that mindfulness aims for.

Returning attention to the present senses from a state of endlessly thinking about past failures or future anxieties.

This is why cases where nature experiences and mindfulness are offered together are increasing.

From luxury retreats to neighborhood parks

Wellness using nature is also spreading in the tourism industry.

On Juist Island in the North Sea of Germany, multi-day mindfulness events are planned, offering programs that reflect on mental states and combine breathing, body sensations, and walking.

However, it is important to note that this trend does not necessarily mean "you can't get the benefits of nature unless you participate in an expensive retreat."

In the first place, contact with nature is inherently quite accessible.

You don't have to travel to a forest.

Walk along the river.

Have lunch in a nearby park.

Go outside for just 10 minutes during lunch break.

Take a walk on a day off with your smartphone in your pocket.

Touch plants on the balcony.

There are countless options that can be incorporated into daily life.

If nature experiences become only "luxury healing products," they will lose their original advantage of accessibility.

In the future, it will be important not only to increase travel products but also to create environments where people can regularly touch nature in parks, forests, schools, and community facilities.

Is the biggest enemy the "smartphone"?

The trend of returning to nature is inseparable from digital detox.

In a survey released by the German digital industry association Bitkom in August 2026, 22% of those planning a summer vacation that year said they intended to consciously distance themselves from personal digital services like smartphones and social media during their trip.

Conversely, about 80% do not plan to completely disconnect from digital devices.

What's even more interesting is the age difference.

Among those aged 16-29, 17% planned a digital detox, compared to 32% of those aged 65 and over.

Younger people are less willing to let go of their smartphones.

That could be one interpretation, but it's also premature to simply conclude "young people are smartphone-dependent."

Smartphones consolidate necessary travel functions like maps, cameras, payments, transportation information, translation, and communication means.

In other words, in modern society,

the issue is becoming not about completely abandoning digital devices, but how to design the distance from them

.

Just turn off notifications.

Set specific times to open social media.

Don't use it before bed.

Put it back in your pocket after taking photos during a walk.

Such "small digital detoxes" might be more realistic for many people.

The interesting contradiction on social media: "Looking at your phone to post about detoxing"

A reaction that symbolizes this theme is also appearing on social media.

On X, there are humorous posts about people going out for a digital detox in nature but touching their smartphones to post about it on X, only to be told, "That's not a detox."

It's a very modern scene.

Even the desire to "get away from the smartphone" wants to be shared on the smartphone.

In another post, there's an example of content being created around the experience of a full day of digital detox, like "Can you keep your smartphone off for 24 hours?"

This is also very intriguing.

Detaching from digital becomes an event shared in the digital space.

On the other hand, positive experiences with forest bathing are also prominent.

Posts can be found with themes like "my mind became quiet" or "I felt stress fading away" after walking in nature, recommending forest bathing as a way to refresh.

Of course, it's impossible to judge the overall evaluation of society from a few social media posts.

However, looking at these reactions, one common point becomes apparent.

What many people seek is not the elimination of the smartphone itself.

It's perhaps time when they don't have to constantly react to something.

If a notification comes, you check it.

If you see a post, you react.

If an email comes, you reply.

If news flows, you read it.

Part of modern fatigue may stem not so much from the volume of information itself, but from the sense of "constantly being required to react."

In the forest, trees don't demand a reply.

There's no need to "like" the sound of birds.

The environment itself may be creating psychological space.

Why "survival experiences" lead to resilience

In initiatives using nature, there are not only mindfulness programs but also more active ones.

Starting a fire.

Creating