5 Surprising Health Benefits of Camping

Immersing yourself or your children in fun and exciting activities strengthens your bond. More so if it’s an activity that involves nature. Being with nature is an overwhelming and relaxing way of telling us that there is more to life than business proposals, signature bags, couture dresses, luxury cars, or gadgets. Whether you’re prepping up for tent camping, backpacking, a short hike, RV camping, or survivalist camping, the surprising health benefits of camping will aspire everyone to include this in their weekend plans.

Here are the five camping health benefits that will make you reconsider that 3-day luxury vacation for a camping trip that involves a great deal of ‘roughing it up.’

1. More Oxygen

Oxygen is crucial to the human body. Simply put, we cannot function without oxygen. The blood that flows throughout our body carries oxygen as well. Oxygen is needed in many vital bodily functions such as burning food and converting it into energy. To achieve this, the oxygen must be supplied to the cells and lungs to also eliminate carbon dioxide.

The oxygen supplied in our lungs is also essential for the entire respiratory system to function. As a matter of fact, the human body utilizes more oxygen through exercise and a healthy diet.

That said, camping undoubtedly makes you break out a sweat. Hiking for kilometers or moving around the campsite will already get your blood flowing, thus, using more of your oxygen. Being in nature also provides you fresh air, which is very soothing to the body physically and mentally. As opposed to inhaling fumes in the city, spending more time in the outdoors and being one with nature cleanses the body in a way.

2. Keeps Body Weight Down

Camping is more than just an activity; it is a lifestyle for some. In addition, some also find camping as a fun and exciting way to keep their calories down. Although there are other alternatives for people to exercise like going to the gym, running, playing sports, or home workouts, camping breaks the mold when it comes to working out.

Some people find it hard to maintain an exercise regimen because of boredom or plateauing. On the other hand, camping can do none of that. In my years of camping, I have never experienced a dull moment when I’m out there. From the moment of meeting at the jump-off point, to the trekking part, every move gives me an adrenaline rush like no other.

Likewise, because camping is a sustainable form of exercise, it can be a perfect way to keep your weight down. For someone who weighs 150 pounds doing moderate efforts such as standing, walking, and sitting during a camping trip for eight hours, a total of 1,360 calories is burned. And you don’t even notice the fatigue because it’s such a fun exercise as compared to spending hours at the gym.

3. Maintains a Healthy Mental State

Not only is camping excellent for the body’s physical state, but it’s also a great way to keep you mentally healthy. Isolation can sometimes take its toll on people. Isolated children will have low self-confidence and will have a difficult time socializing when they grow up.

Although you can take your children to other summer classes to socialize, camping puts them in common ground with absolutely nothing but nature to rely on. This way, adults and children can socialize and meet other likeminded individuals. Socializing also improves your communication skills, which can be applied in every aspect of your life.

Overall, socializing and learning new things can put memory issues at bay and even lengthen your lifespan. Meeting new friends will also keep you mentally healthy, knowing you have a supportive community around you. Most depressed people that have suicidal thoughts are those that can’t express themselves in any way.

4. Sunlight Improves the Immune System

Melatonin is a hormone that the brain’s pineal gland produces at night. The right levels of melatonin affect the body in several ways, such as stress reduction, enhanced sleep, immune system regulation, and depression prevention.

Our body needs vitamins and minerals to make it function properly. That said, our body can’t produce these vitamins naturally. Therefore, it’s crucial that we get the right amount of vitamins from diet or exercise.

Vitamin D is an essential vitamin our body needs because it helps aid in some bodily functions such as:

• Bones and teeth maintenance
• Brain and nervous system support
• Immune system maintenance
• Insulin regulation
• Diabetes management
• Lung function support
• Cardiovascular support
• Cancer prevention

So how do we get vitamin D? Through healthy sun exposure! Exposing your skin for a few minutes in healthy sunlight can give the body enough vitamin D for it to function properly. Unfortunately, other seasons with less sunlight, such as winter can prevent vitamin D absorption.

That’s why a lot of people often prefer to camp during the summer season as it gives them a healthy ray of sunshine which can improve their immune system.

5. Technological Detox

Because technology is penetrating even the most impoverished household nowadays, the number of square-eyed people, especially children, is increasing. All they do is lay around in the couch all day with their eyes hooked on their gadgets.

Since some campsites don’t even have signals, camping is a great way to detach children and adults from their phones and tablets. Using your gadgets too much has proven a lot of risks and health issues over time.

For one, overexposing kids to gadgets can hinder cognitive development. Your kids could be exposed to different destructive content online as well.

Secondly, children who are exposed to gadgets all the time can develop characteristics of increased agitation. Thirdly, gadgets also develop eye, neck, and back strains.

Last but not least, wireless gadgets emit harmful radiation. This can lead to the development of cancer cells in the long run.

There are more rational reasons why children and even adults should reduce their gadget usage. And camping is one way to achieve that. Unless of course you like ‘glamping’, in which case you should choose the best camping generator you can find to power all of your electronics.

Final Thoughts

Camping may not be for everybody. But it’s undoubtedly better than being in a busy city with towering high-rises, and rowdy city people. If you want to keep your physical and mental health stable while having fun in the process, camping is your best bet.

Author Bio:

Sarah Brooks is a passionate travel & outdoor blogger who loves to travel and write about her experience. She is currently working with PursuingOutdoor, which offers ultimate guides and tips on fishing, outdoor, survival, bushcraft, and hunting. Click for more info about survival tips, guides and more.