Adolescents’ mental well-being can significantly improve through forest bathing during the school dayForest bathing is the practice of spending time in forest environments or other natural settings to promote healing and well-being. While research has identified the positive effects of forest bathing on adults’ psychological well-being, it remains unclear if adolescents might experience similar benefits. Investigating how forest bathing impacts youth is especially important given their increasing rates of anxiety and depression in the U.S. To address this gap in understanding, this study examined the effects of forest bathing on adolescents’ mental well-being, and also explored adolescents’ experiences of this practice.
A mixed methods study was conducted at a suburban high school in New York with 24 students in 11th- and 12th-grade advanced placement environmental science classes. The environmental science teacher was also a certified forest bathing guide and an author of the study. The students participated in the design of the study using a youth participatory action research (YPAR) approach, which enabled collaboration with researchers to investigate their forest bathing experiences. Three 90-minute forest bathing sessions, over the course of three weeks, were led by the teacher/researcher at nearby nature preserves utilizing a North American forest bathing walk method. Two of the nature preserves were set in forested environments and one in an open beach environment. Mental well-being was assessed before and immediately after the first and third forest bathing sessions using the Warwick–Edinburgh Mental Well Being Scale (WEMWBS). Additionally, methods selected by participants included open-ended survey responses and journaling that encouraged them to “document and reflect on their work as researchers and their experiences with forest bathing.” Further, participants elected to collect data through photovoice methods, in which they took photos and wrote captions after the second and third forest bathing sessions. All 24 participants completed the first 2 weeks of the forest bathing series; however, only 16 participants completed all 3 weeks and practiced forest bathing a total of three times.
Analysis of survey data revealed that participants’ average mental well-being scores increased significantly after forest bathing. Specifically, comparison of mental well-being pre-survey results to those from after the first forest bathing experience indicated significant improvements with a moderate effect size. Forest bathing for three times further increased average mental well-being, which was also significant compared to pre-survey results, with a large effect size. While mental well-being increased from the first to the third forest bathing session, these gains, however, did not demonstrate significance. Importantly, the number of participants whose pre-survey suggested possible/mild depression or probable depression decreased as a result of forest bathing.
Analysis of qualitative data, which was partly conducted with participants, revealed three themes: relaxation and peace, mindful qualities, and being away. The most common theme from participants’ writings centered upon a relaxing and peaceful experience of forest bathing that enabled a sense of calm and relief from anxiety and stress. Some linked their peaceful feelings to a connection to nature while others described a spiritual experience. Mindful qualities detailed by participants focused on a sense of gratitude, slowing down and being present, and a heightened awareness of nature. The theme being away represents participants’ experience of forest bathing as an escape from the stresses of the school day that allowed them to clear their minds and enjoy time in nature.
Findings suggest that “practicing forest bathing, even just once, significantly increases adolescents’ mental well-being.” Participants’ descriptions of their forest bathing experience echoed these findings as they reported opportunities for relaxation, mindful awareness, and respite from stress. The study also offers a discussion of several factors that may contribute to the mental health benefits of forest bathing. Schools and communities should consider offering forest bathing to adolescents, perhaps as a component of social-emotional learning programs, to support their mental well-being.
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