Brian C Jensen Adults and children were losing interest in hiking exercises before the pandemic. But the COVID-19 situation somewhere helped revived this as many hikers took to the trails. Hiking allows you to be with nature, which also impacts your mind and body positively. Some people can confuse it with neighborhood strolls. However, the difference between the two is pretty apparent, hiking being more about rocky and uneven routes. Then, it is like going uphill and downhill. And for this, proper choice of footwear is crucial. Still, no matter what, you cannot overlook its benefits for your mental and physical health. Let’s explore them at once to know how you can do away with pandemic woes more efficiently.
Brian C Jensen: Why can hiking be good for your mental and physical health post-pandemic?
Better sleep, stress management
When you walk on uneven terrains, you need to use your muscles to stabilize yourself. It puts your entire body in action. Since it also helps burns calories, you can protect yourself from heart-related ailments. Plus, chances of dementia, lack of sleep, type 2 diabetes reduce. If you are a patient of hypertension, you can find relief in that condition too. Coronavirus led to stress and insomnia problems. So when things unlock, you can plan your hiking tour to enjoy these benefits.
Mood enhancement
Brian C Jensen points out hiking is a green exercise as it offers physical health benefits that one can garner by working out amidst nature. However, these exercises don’t just take care of blood pressure issues; you can also see a remarkable improvement in your mental well-being as they help better your mood, reduce depression. You cannot expect this when exercising at home.
Things to consider
Whether you have done this or not, you can use apps to traverse and discover hiking trails. The apps can also offer respite to directionally challenged people. You have to ensure GPS connectivity, though. As a beginner, you can start with the 1,000-mile challenge over a year. You would feel quite active after significantly slowing down due to COVID-19. If you wish to make this activity more enjoyable, you can try geocaching. It involves following a GPS route to locate a box or trinket that somebody may have hid. You can use the app to record your finding. It can be fun to try if you are hiking with a bunch of young people.
According to experts, hiking is one of the best ways to care for your mental and physical health. It can help you become active. Once everything opens in your state, the chances are you will go on local travels a lot. So, you can adopt this technique to come out of the long period of home confinement, explore beautiful scenes, and give your mental and physical state a boost. If aging parents accompany you, it will be better to consult their physicians once and learn about all the safety measures. Rest, you don’t have to worry about anything. When you spend time in nature, your mind and body feel intrinsically nourished.