Hiking Benefits | Science behind Hiking in nature that Makes You Healthier

Even though it is a well-known and proven fact that hiking in nature, up a mountain hill or in the forest will help to cleanse the body, mind as well as soul, science is now coming up with the fact that hiking can very well boost your brain for the better. Apart from enjoying the instant feeling of being in contentment and a calm environment, hiking in nature will help to reduce rumination. Majority of us are overloaded with negative thoughts and this finally takes us out from the world of enjoyment, leading down a path to anxiety or depression at its worst side.

One of the recent studies which were published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences has proved that spending quality time in the Mother Nature will help to lower negative, obsessive thoughts to a large extent. In addition to this, disconnecting yourself from the technological world and connecting with nature will help to increase creative problem-solving capacity. The researchers have also noted the fact that both the urban noise and the technology is being extremely disturbing, thus demanding more attending and stopping us from focusing and all these factors contribute to the cognitive functions. A good and positive hiking in nature will lower your mental fatigue, bring positive thoughts on to your mind and above all, boosts creative thinking.

Besides, hiking in nature is the best way in which you can lose your weight since it burns calories between 400 – 700 during a short hike or even more depending on the terrain you are choosing for hiking. It is also a proven fact that those individuals who workout in nature are having more chances to keep at it and stick on to the schedules, thus making it an exceptional choice for being more active.

This is yet another claim that forest bathing will help to enhance the cancer-fighting cells. There are many researches which point to the fact that even a simple and short walk in the forest could boost the immune system’s capacity to fight against the illness drastically. It was seen that there was an increase of 50 percent in the Natural Killer Cells. This is a kind of WBC which helps to stand against the tumors as well as infections within your body. The increase in the white blood cells will also be pointing to the increased occurrence of the anti-cancer proteins.

Hiking in nature is a great way to stay dry and warm. A research which was conducted proved that there are many facts of telomeres increasing around 10 percent among individuals who are spending more time in exercising outdoors. Telomeres are those guarding caps which are present on the end portion of the chromosomes that influence the cell’s aging. So the longer they will be, the lengthier we live. So, in short, we can say that hiking is one of the most effective ways in which we can lengthen the telomeres as this is the key to living a healthy as well as long life.

Another notable feature is that good and healthy hiking in nature increases brain performance. Try to spend yourself for twenty to thirty minutes for a minimum in nature and see how much clear you are in thinking now. This is actually due to the positive effect of increased supply of oxygen towards the brain. The tress in the hiking areas will act as a natural air filter, thus allowing you to breathe more pure and clean air. Making a habit of hiking in nature is very good, these effects become longer lasting, thus enhancing the overall performance of your brain. There is even proof claiming that exercising in outdoors will stave off Alzheimer’s illness and various other conditions which contributes to brain degeneration. Above all, hiking in the Mother Nature will help you lower the stress levels to a great extent.

You can check out the below to find out 23 ways by which hiking in nature makes you healthier. Another way to be healthier is to do yoga meditation every day as a habit.