Activities in the Outside Keep You Healthy on the Inside

Outdoor activities, time in nature offer health benefits - David DeMille

Rating: ****


There is a student in this semester's outdoor ed class whose favourite phrase consists of three words: "take a hike". While it is is not always practical to trek through the forest every time the suggestion is offered, many doctors are beginning to agree with this student's opinion that more people should "take a hike".

With the increase in sedentary lifestyles and unhealthy diets, many individuals are neglecting their physical health, and are going outdoors less often. However, these individuals are losing out on the benefit of outdoor activity. Not only do outdoor activities help exercise the body and reduce the risk of heart failure or diabetes, they also provide psychological support. Patients with depression or anxiety can use a nice, long hike as a coping mechanism. For this reason, the US National Park service has launched a perennial event known as "National Park Rx Day", an event which encourage people of all ages to visit the national park that is closest to them, and to enjoy time outdoors.

As a person who lives rurally, I have daily access to forests and parks, in which I hike and perform other outdoor activities on a regular basis. However, I can understand the difficulties people who live more urbanely can have accessing these parks, especially when they have their time limited by their jobs. Still though, it is great that Ottawa has many parks and green spaces located within the more urban parts of the city. These public spaces provide good opportunities to participate in outdoors activities for families who cannot leave the expansive city limits on a regular basis in order to go to a federal or provincial park. I also find it interesting how doctors are prescribing outdoor activities in parks. To think that a thing that was previously taken for granted has now become a physician-issued medicine for some people. I think that this article covered the news well, but didn't really talk about much beyond the primary focus of the article.

While many people's lifestyles might continue to become more and more chair-bound, it is important that everyone recognizes the great impact outdoor activities in parks and green-spaces have on our mental and physical well-being. Sometimes, the best suggestion is the simplest one. Everybody should "take a hike".

Sources:

thespectrum.com. "Outdoor activities, time in nature offer health benefits". 26 April 2016. Web. <http://www.thespectrum.com/story/news/2016/04/26/national-parks-week-get-outdoors-get-healthy/83542854/>. Accessed 26 April 2016.