A Walk in the Forest
If you live at a place where there is a forest nearby and it is safe enough for you to walk by each day, would you traverse its woods? You may or may not go solo; in fact, you can walk with family members or friends. As long as you will not be harmed by criminals and the weather is calm, a walk in the forest yields numerous benefits. Alone, you have time to reflect and refresh your mindset, while, with others, you gain both precious quality time and exercise for a long, healthy life.
Taking a walk in the forest produces positive effects on your mind and body. Walking for at least 30 minutes a day as a form of moderate exercise is good for your mind as it releases hormones that make people feel happier. In fact, brisk walking can be as good as antidepressants for relieving mild to moderate forms of depression or anxiety since it releases endorphins that decrease stress. In addition, walking and breathing fresh air are good for your health. Strengthening your heart, walking can diminish bad cholesterol while boosting good cholesterol. Walking helps control blood pressure that can result in a stroke. Furthermore, walking decreases risks for many diseases including type 2 diabetes and some types of cancers like colon and breast cancers. Definitely, a brisk walk in the forest can offer numerous psychological and physical benefits.
If you’re particularly tired from work and trying to solve a problem but has ran out of ideas, try walking for at least half an hour in the forest to refresh your mind. The change in environment in the woods plus fresh air can reinvigorate the brain. The forest can help shift your perspective as it relaxes you and allows you to be become open to new, sometimes even, radical options. In addition, walking can give that endorphin boost you need to feel extra confident. Likewise, communing with nature can be good for your mind as it can help you feel comfortable and peaceful. Perhaps you cannot think anymore about solutions to your problems because of too much familiarity with surroundings; hence, a walk in the forest may be exactly what you require to be refreshed mentally, physically, and emotionally.
Walking with others is good for interpersonal relationships too. In the forest where quiet exists, you can talk with your family or friends and catch up. They may even be more open to sharing their experiences and feelings due to the privacy provided by the forest. Subsequently, you can have closer relationships with them. Moreover, sharing a physical activity together is great for collective health as well. Sometimes, people are lazy to walk when they are on their own. With buddies, they may be stimulated to exercise and enjoy it, producing positive emotional associations with walking and potentially enhancing the health effects of walking.
When walking in the forest, ensure safety and consider the weather. Do not walk alone if the place is known to be a haven for criminals. Better yet, get a buddy or inform the police as some can patrol the area when many citizens are walking. In addition, walk under good weather conditions to avoid injury. Heavy rains or snow apart from too much heat can make you susceptible to accidents and illness. Walk when it is a good time to walk or avoid walking altogether when the weather is bad. Walking should be good for you anyway and not harm you and your companions.
The forest should be a place for rest, relaxation, or activity, and can offer you multiple benefits that cannot be easily obtained in other places. Walking in the woods is a wonderful means to a sound mind and body. If you walk with others, it can contribute to better relationships as well. The most important thing is to be safe and to enjoy the walking process including the beauty and serenity of communing with nature.
