Hiking is not only a great from of physical exercise, this form of physical activity has been proven to have multiple other benefits that can help improve your quality of life.
Here are our 5 favourite benefits of hiking and why you should start today.
1.Improves Your Heart Health.
Hiking paths frequently involve steep inclines, which are very beneficial to your heart! You can receive the heart-healthy benefits of hiking even if you’re not on a trail with a lot of elevation rise. Hiking is a type of cardiovascular (aerobic) exercise, which involves activities that raise your heart and respiratory rates while you fight to provide oxygen to your body. Hiking and other cardio exercises boost blood flow to the small veins around your heart, which can become blocked over time. This increase in blood flow can reduce your risk of heart disease while also improving your blood pressure and cholesterol levels.
While hiking does not raise your heart rate as quickly as jogging or other forms of high-intensity cardio, it is still beneficial.
2.Improve Your Balance.
Hiking is a great way to improve your balance if you’ve ever desired to. Hiking enhances general strength and stability by requiring the use of multiple muscle groups. Hiking, in particular, stimulates and strengthens your hips and core, which help you maintain balance on uneven terrain. However, not every hiking trail will put your balance to the test. Try exploring pathways with steeper gradients (on the ascents and descents) or more uneven terrain characteristics like roots and rocks as your hiking abilities improve.
Improving your balance can help you live a better life. It becomes more important as you get older, because good balance helps to lower the chance of harm from falls. While walking in your neighbourhood or on a treadmill is still a fantastic way to get some exercise,
3.Get Better Sleep
Do you have a strong desire for a good night’s sleep? You might want to go on a hunt! Hiking, like other forms of exercise, has been shown to improve sleep quality in studies. Hiking is a full-body workout that necessitates physical exertion, but it may also be a terrific way to exercise your mind. Mental activities that take a lot of mental fortitude include studying maps, navigating paths, and pushing through a difficult climb. All of that mental and physical exertion pushes our brains and bodies to relax and recharge with a quiet night’s slumber at the end of the day.
There’s a lot of evidence to back up the link between hiking and improved sleep. Dr. Karen Carlson, an associate professor of medicine at Harvard Medical School, believes that
4.Boost Your Mood.
Hiking has a lot of mental health benefits. Not only does being in nature help us cope with stress, but the physical part of hiking, which is essentially a great workout, also aids in the production of endorphins. Hiking, in fact, has a slew of psychological advantages:
Do you want to feel better right now?
Take a hike.
Do you want to get rid of the winter blues or even depression? Hiking has being studied to see if it can be used as a sort of therapy to help those who are depressed. It might be a pretty simple approach to begin to build your way up to a more active lifestyle if you haven’t been active in a while. Activity produces endorphins, which have been shown to improve mood.
5.Build Up Your Bone Density.
When you hike, your bones and muscles carry more weight against gravity, which helps your body build or maintain bone density. Bone density declines about one percent a year after age 40.
By getting outside for a hike you may be able to slow down this loss. The CDC also recommends 30 minutes of physical activity such as brisk walking, 5 days a week. As a bonus, hiking outdoors exposes you to vitamin D from the sun.