Five Ways Hiking Is Good for You

Hiking in nature is not only good for our bodies, but good for our moods, minds, and our relationships

Nature delivers us a variety of experiences that rejuvenate the mind and body. (baranq/Shutterstock)

I’m a hiker—“born to hike,” as my husband likes to joke. It does my heart and soul good to strap on a pack and head out on a trail, especially when I’m alone and can let my mind wander where it will.

The experience of hiking is unique, research suggests, conveying benefits beyond what you receive from typical exercise. Not only does it oxygenate your heart, but it also helps keep your mind sharper, your body calmer, your creativity more alive, and your relationships happier. And, if you’re like me and happen to live in a place where nearby woods allow for hiking among trees, all the better: Evidence suggests that being around trees may provide extra benefits, perhaps because of certain organic compounds that trees exude that boost our mood and our overall psychological well-being.

Hiking in nature is so powerful for our health and well-being that some doctors have begun prescribing it as an adjunct to other treatments for disease. As one group of researchers put it in the American Journal of Lifestyle Medicine, “The synergistic effect of physical activity and time spent in nature make hiking an ideal activity to increase overall health and wellness.”

Here is what science is saying about the benefits of hiking.

1. Hiking Keeps Your Mind Sharp

Being a professional writer, I sometimes have trouble justifying taking the time to hike in the middle of my workday. But research suggests that hiking doesn’t just feel good, it might also keep my brain in top shape.

All exercise is good for us. Whether it’s using an elliptical trainer, riding a stationary bike, or walking on a treadmill, getting your heart rate up and working your lungs can keep you feeling younger and stronger. Exercise also helps your brain thanks to the extra oxygen that exercise delivers to it.

But hiking involves something many other forms of exercise don’t: trails. That means it requires navigating in a world that’s not totally predictable. Slippery dirt, uneven terrain, overhanging branches, trail markers, and wild animals crossing your path—all of the things you might encounter on a trail require micro- and macro-adjustments to your route, which is good for your brain.

As Daniel Levitin explains in his book, Successful Aging, hiking exercises parts of your brain that help you navigate life, like the retrosplenial cortex and the hippocampus, which aid in memory.

2. Hiking Can Keep You Calm and Happy

Exercise, in general, can be a great stress-buster. But what sets hiking apart from other forms of exercise is that it’s done outdoors in a natural setting. While other physical activities also rely on nature—for example, river rafting or backpacking—those often require more time and commitment than a simple hike and are therefore less accessible to many people. Hiking can happen almost anywhere—from a city park or public garden to a mountain trail—and give you that dose of nature you need to stay happy.

Research is quite clear on the benefits of being in nature while exercising. Studies have found that, compared to walking in a cityscape or along a road, walking in green spaces helps us recover from “attention overload”—the mental fatigue that comes from living and working in a world where computers and cell phones are a constant distraction.

Being in nature is calming, too, and studies have found that people who spend time walking in nature are less anxious and suffer less rumination (thinking about the same worries or regrets over and over again), which should help protect against depression.

While it’s not totally clear why nature provides these psychological perks, researcher Craig Anderson and others have found that being in nature encourages feelings of awe—a state of wonder coupled with a sense of being small in the presence of something bigger than yourself. Awe is a powerful emotion that has many benefits, including improving your mood and making you feel more generous.

3. Hiking Helps Your Relationships

It may be obvious that hiking is good for our physical and emotional health. But there is mounting evidence that it helps our relationships, too.

One reason is that many of us hike with other people, and exercising together can produce special feelings of closeness—and a sense of safety. I’m sure when a friend of mine recently fell on a trail and severely fractured her ankle, she was glad to have company to help her hobble down the mountain. But, even in less dire circumstances, having a friend along can be a lovely way to connect with another person in a setting free of other distractions.

In one study, mothers and daughters spent 20 minutes walking in an arboretum (a botanical garden consisting of trees) and 20 minutes walking in a mall. The study showed that compared to the mall walk, after the nature walk the pair had better attention during a cognitive task, and improved interactions with each other, based on various tests and comments. Specifically, the pair demonstrated more connection and positive emotions and fewer negative emotions after walking in the natural setting. Other research suggests that exposure to nature can help our relationships by making us more empathic, helpful, and generous.

What about hiking alone? Personally, I’ve often found that hiking alone helps me in my relationships, likely for all of the reasons above—it helps me reduce my stress, refreshes my depleted attention, and produces awe. And, when I’m feeling good, those effects spill over into my interactions with others once I return from the hike.

For anyone who spends a lot of time caregiving for other people, it can be rejuvenating to let go of that responsibility for a bit and take to a trail. After all, it can’t help but refresh you when you give yourself a break, making you more emotionally available to others afterward.

4. Hiking Can Increase Our Creativity

I’m sure I’m not alone in finding that walks in nature let my mind wander freely in creative directions. In fact, I’ve written many songs while hiking on a trail, lyric ideas bubbling up from some unconscious place when I’m not deliberately thinking.

Though we often read about philosophers or artists who’ve found creative inspiration in natural spaces, science is just beginning to document the connections between being in nature and creativity. David Strayer and his colleagues tested young adults in an Outward Bound program before and after they spent three days hiking in the wilderness. The participants showed increased creative thinking and problem-solving after the experience. Other studies have found connections between creative thinking and nature experiences, too, although they weren’t focused on hiking specifically.

Some scholars believe that these benefits for creativity have to do with how natural settings allow our attention to soften and our minds to wander in ways that can help us connect disparate ideas. Others suggest that the spaciousness and unpredictability of natural scenery somehow enhances creativity. Whatever the case, if being in nature increases creativity—which is tied to well-being—it might behoove creative types to spend a little more time on a trail.

5. Hiking Builds Positive Relationships With Nature

Besides being good for us, hiking may also help the world around us. After all, if we have the stamina to walk places and cover longer distances, we could use cars less and reduce our carbon footprint.

Beyond that, hiking benefits our planet indirectly, because it increases our connection to nature. Developing a positive relationship with the natural world can help us to care about its fate, making us more committed to conservation efforts. At least one study has suggested that when we have a personal connection to nature, we are more likely to want to protect it. That means experiences in nature—like hiking—can be mutually beneficial, helping people and the earth.

Conclusion

This all goes to show that hiking may be one of the best ways to move your body. These points have helped me recommit to hiking regularly. Instead of spending all day every day in front of a computer, I’m taking time to walk outside—even if it’s just for 15 minutes. And I’m definitely noticing improvements in my mood, creativity, and relationships, as well as a growing sense of spiritual connection to the natural world.

So, grab a water bottle, a backpack, and, if you want, a friend, and head out on the trail. You will be glad you did.

Jill Suttie, Psy.D., is Greater Good’s book review editor and a frequent contributor to the magazine. This article was first published by Greater Good magazine online.