Spring is officially here and I have been unable to stop dreaming about getting back outside to enjoy the fresh air and sun!
In addition to being a great workout, did you know that hiking is actually good for your mental health? A slew of research has been done that shows that hiking in nature can help reduce those pesky obsessive, negative thoughts that seem to run on repeat in many of our brains (I'm super guilty of this). If you tend to think constantly about negative things, you're more likely to experience anxiety and depression. But taking a hike can significantly improve your mental health because it gets you out of the urban environment and away from all its attendant stressors like noise and technology. Hiking seems to disrupt that obsessive, negative thought cycle.
Hiking also appears to help boost creative problem solving. This shouldn't come as a surprise since we all seem to be plugged into technology 24/7. Hiking gets us out of that headspace and demands that we focus only on nature, which soothes the mind and lifts that "brain fog" that many of us suffer from. This has the very pleasant side-effect of boosting our creativity! Got a problem you can't solve? Take a hike!
Hiking also appears to greatly benefit children with ADHD. It's also one activity that the whole family can do because it's not a high-impact workout, and it's inexpensive. Don't get me wrong- there are plenty of ways to make hiking more challenging, and if you opt for a harder trail, you can seriously boost your calorie burning potential.
That's the great thing about hiking- it can be as challenging as you want it to be, but it doesn't have to be an intense workout in order for you to benefit from it.
Ready to take a hike? We got you covered! Check out Fittsburgh's list of 14 must-try hiking spots, or Pittsburgh Magazine's run down of 20 great hiking and biking trails in Western PA!
