Hiking to Beat Depression

The benefits of regular exercise for physical health have long been established. Now there is a growing body of evidence that regular exercise can also be used to improve mental health.

There have been many academic studies performed that conclusively show that exercise is an effective treatment for depression. Studies are still being conducted to determine how long, intense and frequent the exercise should be to be most effective.

One type of exercise that is worth investigating is the benefits of hiking outdoors in comparison to walking on a treadmill at a gym. While the total calories expanded could be equivalent the sensory experiences would be extremely different.

Here is the link to the link original article about hiking to fight depression.

Transcript

1. Exercise To Fight Depression Walking for Wellness
2. Exercise Has Been Shown To Help People With Depression • Exercise has long been associated with improvements in physical health. • Many academic studies have been performed which show exercise is an effective treatment for mental health. • Statistically meaningful improvements in patients suffering from depression were measured after 10 days of exercise (30 minutes on a treadmill)
3. Challenges Associated With Exercise • Most academic studies have used walking on a treadmill as the exercise as the activity is easy to measure and replicate. • Most people dislike walking on treadmills • Gym fees • Being judged by more athletic gym members • Boring activity.
4. Go Hiking Instead! • Hiking outdoors provides just as much exercise as walking on treadmills. • No gym membership required. • Get to be immersed in the sights and sounds of nature. • A more fun activity that has a greater chance of long term success.