You’re stuck in another meeting, fluorescent lights buzzing overhead, and your brain feels like it’s running on fumes. Sound familiar?
There’s a growing movement that might actually help. Urban forest bathing booths are popping up inside office buildings, and they’re not just fancy break rooms with a potted plant or two.
What Even Is a Forest Bathing Booth?
Forest bathing-or shinrin-yoku as the Japanese call it-has been around since the 1980s. The concept is simple: spend time immersed in nature to reduce stress and improve wellbeing. But here’s the catch. Most of us work in cities. We can’t exactly wander into a forest during our lunch break.
Enter the urban forest bathing booth.
These are enclosed spaces-usually about the size of a small conference room-designed to simulate a forest environment. We’re talking real plants (lots of them), specialized lighting that mimics natural sunlight, piped-in sounds of birdsong and rustling leaves, and even scent diffusers releasing phytoncides. Those are the organic compounds trees release that research suggests can boost immune function and lower cortisol.
Some booths go further. They include moss walls you can touch, temperature controls that shift subtly like outdoor breezes, and seating designed for meditation or simple rest.
Why Office Buildings Are Adding These Spaces
Biophilic design-incorporating natural elements into built environments-isn’t new. But dedicated forest bathing spaces represent something more intentional than a living wall in the lobby.
Building managers and corporate wellness directors are paying attention to the data. A 2023 study from the International Journal of Environmental Research found that even 15 minutes of simulated nature exposure reduced participants’ heart rate variability markers associated with stress. Another study from Chiba University showed that viewing forest imagery while exposed to forest scents produced measurable drops in blood pressure.
Companies are also dealing with a burnout crisis. According to Gallup’s 2024 workplace report, 44% of employees globally experience daily stress at work. Traditional wellness perks-gym memberships, meditation apps-help some people. But others need something more visceral. Something that doesn’t require motivation or learning a new skill.
You just walk in and sit there. That’s it.
The Science Behind Why This Works
Your nervous system doesn’t fully distinguish between real nature and convincing simulations. This is called biophilic response, and researchers have been studying it for decades.
When you’re surrounded by greenery-even artificial greenery in some cases-your parasympathetic nervous system kicks in. That’s your “rest and digest” mode. Your heart rate slows - your muscles relax. The prefrontal cortex, which handles executive function, gets a break from constant stimulation.
Phytoncides add another layer. These antimicrobial volatile organic compounds are released by trees and plants. When you breathe them in, research suggests they may increase natural killer cell activity in your immune system. Real plants in forest bathing booths release these compounds, which is why serious installations use living greenery rather than plastic.
Then there’s attention restoration theory. Our brains experience two types of attention: directed (which takes effort) and involuntary (which happens naturally). Urban environments constantly demand directed attention. Signs, traffic, screens, notifications. Natural environments engage involuntary attention instead-you notice a butterfly or the pattern of leaves without trying. This gives your directed attention system time to recover.
What a Session Actually Looks Like
Most office forest bathing booths offer 15 to 30-minute sessions. Some are bookable through workplace wellness apps. Others operate on a first-come, first-served basis.
You might walk in during your afternoon slump. The lighting is warmer than office fluorescents, shifting between tones that suggest dappled sunlight. Plants surround you-ferns, small trees, climbing vines on trellises. The air smells different - cleaner. Slightly earthy.
There’s usually no explicit instruction. No guided meditation voice unless you want it. The idea is unstructured time. You can sit, close your eyes, breathe deeply. Some people stretch - others just zone out.
When you leave, you probably won’t feel transformed. But you might notice your shoulders have dropped. Your jaw isn’t clenched. The email avalanche waiting for you seems slightly less urgent.
Not Everyone Is Convinced
Critics argue these booths are expensive band-aids. If your workplace is so stressful that you need a simulated forest to cope, maybe the problem isn’t solved by adding a room.
They have a point.
No amount of potted plants fixes toxic management, unrealistic deadlines, or chronic understaffing. And there’s a risk companies use these wellness amenities as PR while ignoring systemic issues.
But here’s another way to look at it. Stress exists. It’s not going away entirely, even in healthy workplaces. Having spaces that offer genuine physiological relief-not just a breakroom with a coffee machine-adds something real to employees’ days. It’s not either-or. You can address root causes AND provide immediate support.
How Much Do These Booths Actually Cost?
Installation varies wildly. A basic booth with artificial plants, sound system, and lighting runs $15,000 to $40,000. Living plant installations with proper irrigation, maintenance contracts, and phytoncide diffusion systems can hit $100,000 or more.
Operating costs matter too - real plants need care. Lighting systems consume electricity. Some companies hire wellness facilitators to occasionally lead sessions.
For large corporations, this is a rounding error in the facilities budget. For smaller companies, it’s significant. Some coworking spaces now offer shared forest bathing rooms as premium amenities, spreading costs across multiple businesses.
ROI calculations are tricky. How do you measure stress reduction’s value? Some organizations track sick days, employee satisfaction scores, or retention rates before and after installation. The data is encouraging but not definitive.
DIY Alternatives If Your Office Doesn’t Have One
Maybe your workplace isn’t installing a forest bathing booth anytime soon. Fair enough.
**Create a micro-environment at your desk. ** A few real plants-pothos, snake plants, or peace lilies tolerate office conditions-plus a small essential oil diffuser with pine or cedar oil. It’s not the same, but it helps.
**Take walking meetings outside. ** Even 10 minutes in an urban park activates some of the same restorative mechanisms. Trees exist in cities - use them.
**Use your commute differently. ** If you pass any green spaces, slow down. Look at the trees rather than your phone. This sounds almost too simple to work, but attention matters.
**Try forest bathing apps. ** Some apps combine nature sounds with guided breathing. NatureSounds and Calm have decent options. Again, not identical to the real thing, but your nervous system doesn’t entirely know the difference.
Where This Trend Is Heading
Expect to see more of these installations over the next few years. The wellness real estate market hit $438 billion globally in 2023, according to the Global Wellness Institute, and nature-based solutions are growing faster than gym amenities.
Some architects are integrating forest bathing principles into entire buildings rather than isolated rooms. Biophilic design standards are being written into green building certifications. Tech companies are experimenting with VR forest experiences that might eventually supplement physical booths.
The bigger shift is cultural. We’re slowly accepting that humans aren’t meant to spend 8+ hours daily in sealed boxes with recycled air and artificial light. Our biology evolved outdoors. Bringing nature inside-even imperfectly-acknowledges something true about what we need.
Will a 20-minute session in a plant-filled room solve all your work stress? No. But it might help you get through Tuesday. And sometimes that’s enough.