How Hiking Changes Your Brain
Why walking outside is great for your mental health
My playground as a child was the great outdoors. Before moving to a central metropolitan area, I grew up in a small village.
Fortunately, I was surrounded by mountains while staying in a concrete jungle. I’ve been hiking for 15 years now.
Hiking is an integral part of my life since it allows me to live a healthy, creative, and active lifestyle.
A famous proverb says you should walk 10,000 steps every day to stay healthy.
Hiking, I must add, plays a critical part in keeping my brain in excellent condition. I can’t wait to hike on weekends; sometimes, I hike alone to introspect.
After reading many books about hiking and doing many hikes, I started to write my thoughts in a journal after each hike.
Here are the top two things I’m going to tell you about why you should incorporate hiking into your life.
Why is hiking good for your brain?
Hiking is good for your mental health and creativity. Several studies have shown hiking to improve self-control, creativity, and enjoyment.
Imagine yourself going along a trail with a huge mountain on one side and an ocean on the other. Your brain will reward you for showing him nature.
Any form of activity is beneficial to your brain. Due to personal reasons, I am more interested in brain health.
I was astonished to learn that regular exercise is the best way to prevent dementia. Hiking also helps your brain to be more focused, according to the study.
For example, when I go on a hike, I am much more focused and full of ideas after around a one-hour hike. I put this theory to the test by going on a 2.5-mile hike many times.
According to research, hiking also benefits brain health in people with mild cognitive impairments.
From a medical perspective, it makes perfect sense since hiking improves blood vessel health, and as we all know, roughly 15 to 20% of the blood pumped by your heart flows to your brain, despite the fact that your brain only makes approximately 3% of your total body weight.
Increase the size of the Hippocampus and improve memory
The hippocampus may be thought of as your internal navigation system, with three primary functions: learning, navigation, and memory. According to research, hiking outside is the best thing you can do to keep your hippocampus in great shape.
“Physical exercise can grow and promote gray matter retention and thickness in important regions of the brain, like the hippocampus and prefrontal cortex,” McEwen
Pandemic: COVID has impacted many things, but hiking is not one of them. Go for a fantastic hike in the woods to keep your brain healthy and creative.
“When you do exercise on an elliptical or treadmill, you’re not being challenged cognitively. You’re just using automatic movements you’d use every day,” McEwen
Go for a long hike; your brain will stay healthy.
Thank you for reading; following and clapping.
To get access to unlimited stories, you can also consider signing up to become a Medium member for just $5. If you sign up using my link, I’ll receive a small commission (at no extra cost to you). Thank you a million times!
