A university study has shown that camping outdoors genuinely improves people’s mental and physical health and general wellbeing. In a world where many of us work long hours in often stressful, sedentary, indoor-based jobs, camping can provide an ideal opportunity to increase our physical activity and exposure nature to improve our health.
- A study has shown that camping is good for our health and wellbeing.
- Many people have stressful, sedentary, indoor jobs.
- Camping can help increase our physical activity, get us outside, and expose us to the benefits of being in nature.
Today’s increasingly sedentary lifestyles and work patterns mean that we are advised to take part in at least 150 minutes of moderate exercise per week. Basically, we’re advised to sit less and move more.
But unlike days gone by, electronic entertainment, computers, devices and tablets often overwhelm our leisure time, and because many manual activities have been replaced by machinery, much of the exercise we used to take as a matter of course in our daily lives has diminished.
One way to combat this is to spend more time outside being active, and that’s where camping comes in.
When we’re camping, we exercise more whether we intend to or not. Simple things like putting up the tent, cooking and washing up or walking to the shower block builds exercise into our days automatically and that’s before the bike riding, hiking, football, climbing and swimming that we can suddenly find the time to enjoy.
Because it’s inevitable that camping equates to more time in the open air, our vitamin D levels are boosted due to increased exposure to sunlight. Notwithstanding adequate sun protection, vitamin D is necessary to produce good mood serotonin, regulate our sleep patterns, strengthen bones and muscles, and support our immune systems.
In fact, the study showed that 97% of campers simply cited happiness as a reason to do it while 93% said that they enjoyed connecting with nature, 93% said that they enjoyed better well-being, 44% said that they have optimal mental health (which increased for more frequent campers), 88% said that they felt less stressed, and 98% of campers take part in outdoor activities.
They all sound like good reasons to go camping to us!