Hiking can benefit one’s health; it is more than a fun outdoor activity. While there may be nothing wrong with going to the gym, sometimes going outside into the woods and changing your environment can benefit you on a whole new level.

Hiking provides tangible benefits, from better mental health to physical fitness and an improvement in one’s social life.

Here are some of the social, mental, and physical advantages of consistent hiking.

It helps with obesity

Like every exercise, hiking is a good way to lose weight and stabilize cholesterol levels. People who go hiking to lose weight maintain their weight loss while losing more weight , unlike those who lose weight through dieting; they gain more weight fast. Also, because of how fastly you are walking, you tend to burn calories; you can burn up to 250 calories when walking over 2.5 miles in an hour.

It increases one’s brainpower

Hiking stimulates the growth of neurons. Some reports have shown how hiking benefits one memory. It sharpens your memory retention skills.

It helps one’s anxiety

Walking releases endorphins and adrenaline —the endorphins released by the body when walking can boost one’s spirit and mood throughout the day. And the adrenaline helps to reduce anxiety and tension.

It helps to maintain body mass

One can enjoy hiking for a long period without doing it excessively. However, it is still an exercise, and with extra concentration, it can be a great way to maintain your muscle tone on your whole body.

Exposure to nature

Aside from the physical benefits of hiking, being close to the natural environment enriches your general quality of living. Sometimes, spending time away from the urban areas and exposing yourself to nature, the mountains, woods, trees, and birds, reminds you of how our roots still lie in the heart of nature.

You could choose a trail with some wildlife, take pictures, and enjoy the view. Walking about in these natural environments allows you to reconnect with nature in ways that few outdoor activities can’t.

Social interaction

Hiking breeds a type of social interaction in nature that you may not find somewhere else. Seeing and interacting with other people who enjoy hiking just as much as you do adds an element of social interaction to your life. It allows you to have one or two friends to go with on your hiking journey, and that also lets you build strong bonds and share experiences with them.

Hiking can limit health risks

Hitting the trail often helps to reduce the risk of having many different health issues. It helps minimize any threat or sign of heart, diabetes, and stroke diseases. Moreso, it also reduces your blood pressure. Regardless of if you would rather go down or up the hill, they both have health-satisfying rewards, like studies show that going downhill is effective for aiding glucose tolerance.

Hiking is very beneficial to the body, and so the next time you go hike, think about the benefits, and thank yourself for engaging in a rewarding and enjoyable activity