Take a Hike
My husband and I like to look at each other and joke, “Are we walking or are we hiking?”
“Is it hiking if you’re on dirt and walking if you’re on pavement?” “What if your driveway is rocks? Do you hike or walk to the mailbox?”
“Is it hiking if you have to bring a snack and water?” “What if you’re walking with breakfast?”
“Is it hiking if there is a hill involved?” “What if I live up a hill and I’m walking back from the mailbox?” Ok, I’ll stop.
Is HIKING really good for you? Heck YES!
Let me share with you what happens to your body when you take a hike:
Hiking increases blood flow to your brain. This decreases stress, releases endorphins, improves your mood, lowers depression, reduces the risk of cognitive decline.
Hiking helps with insulin resistance, helping your hormones regulate your blood sugar levels. Maintaining blood sugar levels helps your energy to stay boosted.
Hiking up and down hills increases the muscle activation in your glutes, hips, knees, quads, hamstrings, calves and ankles. The steeper the grade, the greater the muscle benefit. 14er anyone?
Hiking at a brisk pace and/or uphill increases your heart rate, thus improving blood flow. This assists your heart to pump efficiently and reduces your risk of cardiovascular disease and arteriosclerosis.
Hiking puts you in nature which improves your psychological well-being. Hiking in nature helps with emotional regulation, improves memory function, uplifts your mood, lowers stress and cortisol levels, builds attention focus, reduces chances of ADD, and even increases problem-solving skills.
Weight bearing exercises and activities such as hiking are helpful for your bones. You need the weight of your body on your bones to promote bone health and ward off osteopenia and osteoporosis.
Hiking enhances your spirituality by strengthening the human-nature relationship. This helps us feel more gratitude.
Hiking, especially post-meals, helps your body to process your meal and move it through your digestive system. This can reduce bloating and assist with digestion.
Hiking and thus breathing in nature gives us wholesome sensory awareness. We become more mindful of what we see, what we hear, what we smell, and what we feel.
Hiking increases the circulation of synovial fluid around your joints, lubricating them and feeding nutrients to the cartilage. These tissues act as a cushion between your bones and keep your joints feeling good and healthy.
There are even some studies showing more time in nature (see Forest Bathing) have more optimum nervous system functions, reduced bowel disorders, stimulates the production of anti-cancer proteins, and possibly help with terminal illness.
Hiking about 30 minutes a day or more is linked to lower body weight, lower BMI, lower body fat, and waist circumference. Hike it out.
