9 Fantastic Reasons to go Hiking
There’s no denying hiking is good for us; there’s a wealth of research out there telling us it is. It makes you stronger, lowers your blood pressure and cholesterol and helps to prevent heart disease just to name a few benefits.
As well as the numerous physical benefits, there’s also an abundance of mental health benefits from reducing anxiety and stress to learning to live in the moment.
Once you catch the hiking bug and experience a great many wonders that come with it, from magnificent natural beauty and jaw-dropping landscapes to the feelings of excitement, adventure and freedom, you’ll be hooked!
Also, one of the greatest benefits of hiking is that anyone can do it!! Whether you’re a beginner, never hiked a mountain or you often go backcountry trekking, there are always new adventures to be had and the same benefits to experience.
Here are our top 9 reasons to go hiking:
Reasons to go Hiking
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Great Exercise
We’ll kick off our reasons to go hiking with the most obvious one; great exercise!
It’s an awesome cardio workout, which, not only benefits the heart but also lowers blood pressure, increases the efficiency of the lungs and improves stamina.
It’s also fantastic for strength training! The different terrains you’ll encounter, from steep, rocky inclines and boggy marshlands to loose scree and ice, work all of the muscle groups in the body (including those you never knew you had!) and improves your core balance.
Another way hiking is good for the body is, through the healthy dose of Vitamin D you get from being outdoors. Essential for strong, healthy bones.
Reduces Stress and Anxiety
Another one of the top reasons to go hiking is for the profound impact it has on your overall mental well-being.
The modern world we live in is great for putting tons of pressure on us. Immersing ourselves in nature is a great way to relieve these pressures and escape the stresses we experience. It also makes you realise the world is so much greater than yourself and the bubble you live in.
If you suffer from depression, hiking can really help. Physical exercise releases endorphins which, in turn, increases levels of dopamine and serotonin which boost your mood and relieve stress and pain.
As well as lowering your blood pressure, hiking also lowers your cortisol levels which produce a calming effect only mother nature can offer in addition to the physical benefits.
Hiking is also great for reducing anxiety. It helps to quieten the mind so you can focus on your breathing to a part meditative state.
Building hiking into your regular habits may also improve your productivity, outlook and attitude to life. So, what are you waiting for?! Grab those hiking shoes and get yourself outside!
Discover New Landscapes
One of our favourite reasons to go hiking is to discover new landscapes and uncover new places we’ve not experienced before.
With every corner, there’s a new scene to unearth, every path you take is different, even taking the same path again you’ll discover something you didn’t notice before. That valley you visited in summer will look like a whole new world in winter.
You’ll stop countless times to take photos of breathtaking views. That striking blue alpine lake, endless peaks stretching as far as the horizon, huge glaciers looming above mountains and enchanting shaded forests like something from a fairytale.
Challenge Yourself
One of the best reasons to go hiking is the number of opportunities you have to challenge yourself!
Whether you’ve not done much walking and you’re keen to get started, or you regularly embark on multi-day treks, there’ll always be ways you can push yourself and reach new heights.
Although we might like our nice, cosy comfort zones, it’s SO important for us to step out of them, challenge ourselves, push our boundaries and find out what we’re capable of!
Regularly stepping out of our comfort zones and challenging ourselves helps us to grow, learn more about ourselves, including our values, passions, desires, and increase our knowledge and skills.
Setting yourself challenges and successfully overcoming them can also boost your confidence as you realise you’re capable of much more than you ever imagined!
If we don’t challenge ourselves we’ll constantly wonder what our life could have looked like and who we could have become.
Improves Sleep Quality
We’ve been hearing a lot recently about how important sleep is for health. Poor sleep can cause weight gain, increase the risk of disease, decreases brain functionality and has a negative effect on hormones.
One of the best-proven ways to improve sleep quality and health is through exercise. Studies have shown exercise can half the amount of time taken to fall asleep and provide people with an extra 40 minutes of sleep roughly a night.
Hiking is an ideal form of exercise to help you sleep as it uses your entire body and alerts all of your senses!
Your legs and core are used as you hike but also your mind is constantly stimulated as you walk over uneven terrain, navigate around obstacles, remain alert for wildlife and take in the beauty of your surroundings.
Alertness can also have a huge impact on sleep. Studies have shown those who feel more awake and alert during the day, sleep longer and sounder at night.
In Touch with Nature
Hiking is one of the best ways to experience the magnificence and wonder that nature has to offer.
You’ll breathe in the fresh, crisp air away from the pollution of cities, witness thundering waterfalls plummeting hundreds of feet into pools below and experience some of the world’s best wildlife up close and personal.
Hiking also has the added benefit of being able to take you to off the grid places where transport can’t access. There’s nothing quite like sitting on the edge of an alpine lake staring at a huge glacier towering above you in absolute silence!
Reconnect with Yourself
Hiking is a fantastic way to reconnect with yourself!
Taking some time out from the pressures and stresses of everyday life, turning your phone off or hiking where there’s no signal, can really help to switch your mind off.
It also gives you the chance to reflect and recharge and take some time for yourself. Focusing and tuning in on your thoughts and feelings can help you really figure out how you are if you’ve been too busy to take notice.
Escape the Real World
This is one of our absolute favourite reasons to go hiking!
Turning off your phone, putting on the out of office, forgetting about KPIs, not scrolling through social media wondering why our lives aren’t as perfect as these strangers we follow!
Heading out for a run or walk are good options to distract us from these, however, there are many other noisy distractions ready to steer our focus. Hiking, however, is a wonderful escape!
A vast, open trail away from cars, horns and traffic lights, an eerie enchanted forest silent except for birdsong or standing on the peak of a mountain with nothing but the sound of the wind.
Your stresses and worries will dissolve away instantly!
Live in the Moment
To round off our list of reasons to go hiking is living in the moment!
It’s so easy to worry about the past and future that more often than not, we forget to live in the moment, be truly present and appreciate what we have now.
When you’re hiking in the natural environment, there aren’t any filters, everything’s raw and real. It’s impossible not to stop and appreciate the wonders of nature and the magnificence of where you are.
You’ll find yourself being well and truly present without even meaning to!
It’s also common to find yourself entering a meditative state as you walk, also helping to focus your mind on the present moment.
So, we hope you’ve enjoyed our list of reasons to go hiking and we’ve inspired you to get those boots on! If you have any more you’d like to share or want to get in contact, follow us on Instagram and drop us a message 🙂