Short answer: your phone isn’t the enemy.

But it is extremely good at getting your attention.

One of the main explanations for nature’s restorative effects comes from Attention Restoration Theory, which suggests natural environments help our attention recover from mental fatigue. Nature tends to hold attention gently- what researchers call soft fascination.

A breeze moving through leaves.
Light shifting through branches.
Birds doing whatever birds are doing.

Phones operate a little differently.

Notifications, messages, and the occasional mysterious urge to check something “just for a second” tend to pull attention right back into task mode.

Research even suggests that the mere presence of a smartphone can draw on cognitive resources, quietly competing with whatever else you’re trying to focus on.

Nature restores attention when we actually attend to it.

Phones are very good at interrupting that.