4 Reasons Why Camping is Good for Your Health

Camping is a great way to spend free time together with friends or family. It is a fun way to socialize and expend quality time with them. Not only are you outside enjoying nature, but you are also saving money. Before you begin driving to the campsite, you should make sure your car has proper car insurance for camping.

It is important to have good companions for the whole camping trip worthwhile and able to enjoy every minute of it. It can also be great for individuals who prefer to have some peaceful time alone. This also gives us the opportunity to witness and experience nature first hand, to take a break from all the hassles and bustles of the city life. Camping is an opportunity to get away from the usual day to day routine and to get involved with something new and exciting.

Although most people might think that going on a camping trip is much of a hassle and a time consuming activity, there are several tips from camping experts and enthusiasts on how to make the camping experience easy and enjoyable. Camping should be properly planned in order to prevent ordeals along the way. When all the check lists and to do lists are executed properly, indeed campers can maximize the overall positive outcome of the camping experience.

Proper gears, protection, and the right kinds of foods should be considered when going on camping. You should make sure you have the proper health insurance for the family and be prepared for anything. Bringing the right tent and equipment such as flashlights, sleeping bags, emergency kit, and pocket knives, using the right and comfortable backpack, wearing the right footwear and clothes, etc. are essential to enjoy and feel secured during whole experience.

It is true that camping is beneficial in a lot of ways. Of course, people can witness the great outdoors and enjoy the beauty it possesses. Also, more and more people are convinced that camping can give health benefits as well. For this reason, many are motivated to try for themselves how camping can really do well to their bodies and to their health. Health benefits of camping include but not limited to:

1. Physical Benefits of Camping

Many camping activities can be a good form of exercise. Some examples:

1. Walking, hiking or a slow jog is a great form of aerobic exercise. These exercises can help improve circulation, can strengthen and pump up the heart, can help in lowering the blood pressure and decrease risk of heart problems, and helps increase bone strength thus decreasing the risk of developing osteoporosis.
2. If bikes are available, biking uphill and downhill in the trails is also a good form of exercise and a great activity to enjoy with companions.
3. Simple things like getting some water, preparing wood for bonfire, and even the packing process and setting up the require energy and can help burn off some calories as well.

There are other healthy benefits to a camping trip too.

• Boost the level of Vitamin D in the body
• Going outdoors also means getting to enjoy the sunshine. By exposing a little bit to the sun’s rays during the time of the day where in the sun’s rays is not yet at its hottest state (sun is at its hottest from 9am to 3pm), it allows the vitamin D precursors found in our skin thus increasing the absorption of Vitamin D in our body. Because of this, it helps to maintain the normal levels of phosphate and calcium in the blood keeping your bones strong and decrease the chance of developing osteoporosis.
• Studies have shown that Vitamin D may help ward off some form of depression, and prevent high blood pressure, heart attacks and even some forms of cancer. Vitamin D deficiencies can be prevented by exposes as little as ten minutes on most days to the sun’s rays. However, it is very important to take precautionary measures when exposing to the sun. There are also some great places where you can get online nutrition supplements.
• Improve ability to sleep
• Getting better and deeper sleep allows one to have more energy for the day and a clearer mind. Getting more hours of sleep decreases level of stress and may help lose weight.
• Works major group of muscles camping activities such as hiking on uphill trails, doing long, steep climb, and setting up the perfect camping site such as gathering woods, rocks or just running around and play with the kids allow major muscle groups to experience tension and contraction, thus improving its state.
• Reduce physical stress

Back pains, eye strains, muscle aches and headaches, sluggish circulation that increases the risks of heart problems and heart attacks are just some of the results of too much stress. Any form of outdoor activities such as camping has been proven to reduce the level of stress in the body. This allows the body to recuperate and regain the energy lost.

Enjoying outdoor activities has also been proven to naturally increase the serotonin level of our body, thus reducing the feeling of being stressed and greatly improve our mood. The scent of grass can have a calming effect as some research suggested.

2. Mental Benefits from Camping

• Reduce mental stress
• Piles of work to do and demands from our jobs increase not just physical stress but mental stress as well. Most people have experience physical and mental burn out at one point in their lives. Getting away from the usual daily routine and high demands of work such as using the computer for more than 12 hours, answering phone calls, operating machines, setting up appointments, meetings and conferences gives your mind the rest that it deserves.
• The serenity of the wilderness can allow one to have quiet meditation and peace of mind.

3. Emotional Benefits

The feeling of being calm, appreciating the simple things in life and knowing that things do not have to be complex all the time allows one to have a more positive and clearer outlook or perspective in life. Camping also gives one an emotional rest from all the emotional expense from the usual day to day life.

4. Social Benefits of Camping

• Having a busy life with so much work can affect quality time that should be spent for the family, particularly the children. Also, children of today’s generation barely spend time playing outside and enjoy the outdoors. Most of them are playing computer games and watching TV inside the house. Camping is a great way to break away from work and technology and focus more on spending quality time with family and enjoy various camping activities that everyone will surely enjoy.
• Camping is also a great avenue to know and make new friends from fellow campers and hikers that you may find along the way. This is a great way to share and exchange camping experiences and learn new things from them, and even enjoy activities together with new friends.

Camping is an effective and cost efficient form of outdoor activity. The next time you think of getting away during the weekends, try camping out and experience firsthand the many health benefits of camping at the same time enjoy the beauty of nature.

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