Your mental health is one of the most important factors in your life that you should look after – arguably as important as your physical health (although working on your physical health will also help your mental health). When your mental health is at its best, you’ll feel more positive, feel happier, and motivated.
Looking after your mental health can be done in many ways. You can help it through the food that you are eating, by getting the recommended hours of sleep, drinking enough water (and less alcohol), and looking after your physical health, which is where hiking comes in.
Hiking is perfect for helping your mental health. It gets you outside, breathing in the fresh air, you can socialise with others and you will be getting active, raising your heart rate and burning plenty of calories. If you are doing a Camino Portugues Coastal or thinking of doing one, know it’s going to benefit your mental health and below we look into the reasons why.
You will be being active
It’s a well-known fact that exercising can really benefit your mental health, and exercising is exactly what hiking is. No matter the distance you are planning on going, you will be raising your heart rate, working your muscles, and helping your cardiovascular system. You could be walking up a steep incline to walking down one as well as flat surfaces and you will be doing all of this on different terrains.
Hiking gets you outside
Walking and exploring nature is a fantastic way to help your mental health as it can help decrease anxiety and reduce stress. When taking on a Camino de Santiago, you could be walking over 100km, seeing many beautiful landscapes – you’ll be forgetting about everyday life in no time! When on your hikes, you will be breathing in fresh air and in places very quiet, helping you reach a more peaceful mindset. It also gives you the chance to experience new and unique things that you can share with others.
Hiking gets you talking
Of course, you can solo hike if that is something that appeals to you, however, a lot of people like to hike with their friends or family members. This gives you the perfect opportunity to reach out to them and talk about things in life that may be bothering you – a problem shared is a problem halved! As well as you reaching out, it also gives your friends or family members a chance to reach out to you, meaning you can support them as well as them supporting you. You will be amazed at how many different types of conversations you can have over a few hour’s hike.
Hiking is so beneficial to your mental health, that our list could keep going! Do you like to hike to help benefit your mental health? Are there any other reasons that you think hiking will help your mental health? Which of the above tips did you find most useful or inspiring? Let us know in the comment box below.
