10 Most Amazing Health Benefits of Hiking

Table of Contents

Are you active enough in your lifestyle?

According to statista.com, after cancer (53%), obesity(33%) is the biggest health problem faced by adults worldwide.

The above data clearly shows that you enjoy living a sedentary lifestyle more than an active lifestyle.

Have you ever thought about it, why you love being a couch potato?

Think about it!

benefits of hiking_couch potato
Ahh!! It’s Bliss..

I feel because going to the gym or going for a walk or doing any exercise takes a lot of effort and discipline, and IT’S BORING!

Isn’t it?

What if, I tell you that there’s an exercise, which is a full-body workout means you’ll get both physical as well as mental benefits and while doing it you get to breathe fresh air, feel breezes and hear birds chirping, the rustling of leaves and also you need not do it daily.

Yes, as the title suggests, I’m talking about hiking and it’s amazing health benefits.

“The trail leads not merely north and south: but up to the body, mind, and soul of a man.”

Harold Allen

There is plenty of research out there that talks about the health benefits of hiking and how hiking can do wonders to your body, mind, and soul.

For all the nerds, you might like to read some of them. Here you go-

Now, let me share the health benefits of hiking from my personal experience in simple and easy language

10 Health Benefits of Hiking that’ll make you Hit The Trail

1. Hiking strengthens your core and legs muscles

benefits of hiking_ strong legs muscles

When you go for a hike, you carry hiking essentials in your daypack on your back, or hiking on an uneven terrain engages the core muscles to keep your balance stable, which helps in strengthening the core muscles.

Note: Distribute the weight of your bag evenly. Don’t overload it though you can carry a little extra weight to burn more calories.

Most hikes involve uphill and downhill. Climbing up strengthens your glutes, quadriceps, hamstrings, and calves, whereas while coming back down, your glutes and quadriceps work a bit harder to stabilize your knees and hips to prevent you from falling down.

2. Hiking lowers your blood pressure and risk of heart diseases

According to the national heart, lung, and blood institute, physical activity like hiking can lower blood pressure by 4 to 10 points.

Hiking is a cardiovascular activity, and thus hiking regularly puts you at a lower risk of cardiovascular diseases.

3. Hiking reduces stress, calm anxiety, and combat depression.

 Hiking reduces stress, calm anxiety, and combat depression.-benefits of hiking

You must have experienced this before.

Didn’t you feel calm whenever you were in nature?

There are studies to back this, which suggests that walking in nature leads to a lower risk of depression, reduces stress levels, and helps in combating the symptoms of stress and anxiety.

In research, done by Standford University, two groups of participants went on a 90-minute walk, one in the natural environment and the other group in the urban environment.

The researchers found out that participants who walked in a natural environment reported lower levels of rumination(repetitive thought focused on negative aspects of the self) and showed less neural activity in the subgenual prefrontal cortex( an area of the brain linked to risk for mental illness) compared with those who walked through an urban environment.

4. Hiking helps your relationships

hiking helps your relationships_benefits of hiking

“If everyone in the world took care of each other, the way folks do out on the trail, and if everyone approached each day with as much hope and optimism as hikers do, the world would be a better place.”

John Tullis

From my experience, hiking helps your relationship by two factors-

a) Trust

When you’re hiking with somebody, you tend to put your complete trust on that person as on the trail you got nobody except your hiking partner to deal with any unforeseen circumstances, resulting in a strong bond.

b) Quality time

In this modern world, nobody has got time to listen to others, and more than real interaction, we interact via text and video call.

On a hike, you have nothing to get distracted, and it allows you to engage in deep, meaningful conversations and cherished moments of silence with your hiking partner.

According to research, spending time in nature makes us more empathetic, helpful, generous and trusting, and that helps in our relationships.

5. Hiking boosts creativity

health benefits of hiking_boosts creativity

” All truly great thoughts are conceived by walking”

Friedrich Nietzsche

Hiking is merely a walking activity in the natural environment and researcher have found that walking in nature as well as exposure to nature increases the creative output by 50-60%.

Note: Participants did better in divergent thinking, whereas they did no better, infact slightly worse in tasks that required convergent thinking.

Divergent thinking– a thought process in which you come up with many solutions to a problem. E.g. – thinking of a caption for the photo.

Convergent thinking– a thought process in which you try to find a single best solution to a problem. E.g. -spelling tests, multiple-choice questions.

Hiking is a leisure activity where you unintentionally take a “ cognitive pause”- which is an integral part of the creative process.

New insights come to you when you ‘pause and unload’ your mind. A ‘letting go’ of the problem at hand is necessary for creative thinking otherwise you would be stuck forever in the same preconceptions and pattern of thought, says neurologist Vinod Deshmukh.

I highly recommend you to watch this ted talk for more on this topic-

 6. Hiking builds bone density

By the age of 30, most of us start losing bone material density and become more prone to fractures and bone-related diseases like osteoporosis.

Hiking can counteract these problems as it is a weight-bearing exercise which means it forces your bone to work harder against gravity, and this helps in improving your bone health.

An added benefit of hiking outdoor is that you get vitamin-D from sunlight, which is essential for calcium absorption, which you need for bone health.

7. Hiking improves sleep quality

health benefits of hiking_improves sleep quality
After 5 miles of hike!

Hiking, resets your circadian rhythm.

On a hike, you’re exposed to only natural light, which synchronizes your internal circadian clock to the sun.

A balanced circadian rhythm is crucial for a healthy sleep cycle.

According to research done in Japan, two hours of forest walking significantly improves sleep quality.

8. Hiking helps you lose weight

“Hiking is the best workout! You can hike for three hours and not even realize you’re working out. And, hiking alone lets me have some time to myself.

Jamie Luner

Hiking is an excellent low-intensity total body workout, which means the calories you will burn is mostly from fat, and the best part is its done in nature, and also, you don’t realize you’re working out.

An hour hike can burn upto-400-500 calories depending on your hiking speed, the weight of day pack, and type of terrain.

And, if you’re an athlete like me, whose goal is not to lose weight but perform better in the next marathon, then hiking regularly at high altitude will make your body to adapt using less oxygen, which will lead to better performance.

9. Hiking makes you happy

“Hiking and happiness go hand in hand or foot in the boot.”

Diane Spicer

The feeling you get when you spot a deer crossing your trail or looking at a beautiful waterfall or a snow-capped mountain is unparalleled to any emotion. It surely does boost your mood.

Studies have found that nature walks make you less anxious, happier, and boosts self- esteem.

Also, endorphins (the feel-good hormone) get released when you hike, and quality time which you spend with the one you love, on the trail makes you feel happy.

10. Unplug from the world

health benefits of hiking_unplug from the world
Scrolling is the new smoking!

I need not tell you the amount of time you spend on your phones and computers.

What are the consequences?

Eyestrain, headache, decreased attention span, back and neck pain, difficulty in falling asleep, just to name a few.

Hiking can be a good option for you to go on a digital detox once a week.

Hiking Safety Tips :-

  • Make a list of hiking essentials
  • Bring a map as well as navigational tools
  • Check the forecast
  • Let someone knows about your hike
  • Choose the proper gear
  • Plan you hike
  • Stay hydrated
  • Bring a hiking buddy

FAQs

Is hiking a good way to lose weight?

Hiking is a low- intensity total body workout, which means you’ll burn calories mostly from fat, which is an excellent way to lose weight.

What are the 10 essentials for hiking?

Walking poles
Hiking boots
Navigation tools
Water
Food and snacks
Rain gear
First aid kit
Sunscreen
Sunglasses and Hat
Backpack
Knife
Extra pair of socks and clothes
Backpack rain cover
Portable charger
Insect repellent
Blister kit
Safety items
Trash bag (to bring your trash back and keep the garbage you come across on the trail).

Is hiking once a week enough exercise?

150 minutes a week is the recommended amount of exercise time.
It doesn’t matter whether you do 30 minutes daily, five days a week, or you meet the quota on weekends.
Any hike takes longer than 2-3 hours, and you also burn more calories compared to walking.
Hiking once a week surely meets all the recommended guidelines.

How many calories does hiking burn?

On an average, an hour hike burns upto 400-500 calories. It depends on factors like the weight of your day pack, type of terrain you are hiking on, and the intensity of hiking.

What muscles are used in hiking uphill?

Hiking is a total body workout. Most of the lower body part muscles are engaged throughout but specifically while hiking uphill hamstrings, quads, glutes, calves, and hip muscles are engaged.

Conclusion

I hope now you’ve got enough reasons to hit the trail. So what are you waiting for?

Lace-up your hiking boots, grab the hiking essentials and take a hike to reap all the health benefits of hiking.

Happy Traveling!

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