Iam an avid hiker and love to explore trails all around the world. A short walk outside or a hike has a powerful influence on our mental health, helping us shut off from stressful thoughts and think more sensibly while being at one with nature! Here are some ways that hiking might help you improve your mental health.
Organize your thoughts
Hiking through a natural environment is more beneficial than merely walking in the city. While any type of walking is beneficial to one’s physical health, walking in nature is more helpful to one’s mental health. Hiking in the countryside has more mental health benefits than walking in populated areas. Hiking minimizes the impact of the brain area that causes inferior emotions.
Boost your mental power
According to research, people who spend more time outdoors and less time with technology are up to 50% more creative when it comes to problem-solving activities. Furthermore, habitual walkers and hikers have a superior memory than people who do not spend as much time in nature.
Being close to nature on regular basis can also help repair cognitive skills like memory and attention.
Boost your confidence
Some people tend to over-analyze their bad feelings and experiences, known as rumination. Hiking has the added benefit of reducing the possibility of over-thinking these experiences. I can understand that running on a treadmill is beneficial to mental health too, but a trek in the woods is better for combating common mental health disorders such as stress and depression.
The diverse scenery of mountains, trees, waterfalls, birds’ voices, and beaches is far more intriguing than the usual gym’s walls, so it’s easy to see why a walk through nature — or simply the park — makes us feel so much better.
Unplug from the rest of the world
Hiking gives a pleasant break from the constant sensation that keeps going all the time in this modern world which is highly wired through technology. We continually look at displays and check our phones, always connected to the global network. Wandering where there is no WiFi can be a great way to relieve the mental tiredness of technology.
Bonus: Before hiking, I usually check the AllTrail app. AllTrail is a fantastic app that covers almost every path on the planet.
Thank you for reading!
