Unplugged and Recharged: The Profound Health Benefits of Camping

February 17, 2024 ReWild America

A simple life - even if it’s just for the weekend. Your world becomes small and time slows.

In an age where digital overload and city life can overwhelm us, camping stands out as a powerful remedy. It offers significant benefits for both mind and body. As regular campers who track our health with devices like the Oura ring, we've noticed marked improvements in our well-being after camping trips. These include better sleep quality, reduced resting heart rate, and greater heart rate variability. Motivated by these findings, we've taken the time to thoroughly explore how camping can positively influence our health. Join us as we dive into the transformative effects of camping, informed by personal health data, observations, and scientific insights.

1. Escaping Routine: A Natural Mood Enhancer

Camping provides a necessary diversion from daily life. Changing environments and breaking from routine can trigger the release of dopamine, a neurotransmitter associated with reward and pleasure. This can elevate mood and reduce stress levels. Moreover, exposure to natural settings can increase activity in the parts of the brain responsible for empathy and emotional stability, according to research published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

2. Intentional Planning: Cultivating Present-Moment Awareness

The process of preparing for a camping trip, including selecting gear and mapping out routes, demands attention to detail. This process can shift focus away from stressors and promote mindfulness, which has been shown in studies to reduce anxiety and stress.

3. Innate Curiosity: Cognitive Benefits of Exploration

Our built-in desire to explore is rewarded during camping with new experiences that stimulate the brain. Exploration involves the hippocampus, a brain region associated with memory and learning. Novel experiences can enhance cognitive flexibility and stimulate neuroplasticity, which is the brain's ability to form new neural connections throughout life, as per findings in the journal Neuron.

While exploring on our paddle boards, we found this picturesque secluded beach: no shirt, no shoes, no problem.

4. Engaging in Physical Activity: Enhancing Sleep and Fitness

Camping activities provide substantial physical exercise, contributing to cardiovascular health and physical strength. Physical activity increases the expenditure of energy, which can lead to deeper and more restful sleep. Exercise also promotes the release of endorphins, which act as natural painkillers and mood elevators.

5. Natural Light Exposure: Regulating Sleep-Wake Cycles

Daily sunlight exposure while camping helps regulate our sleep-wake cycle, improving sleep quality and mood. This alignment with the natural light-dark cycle is crucial for maintaining healthy circadian rhythms. This is supported by research from the Sleep Research Society and the American Academy of Sleep Medicine.

6. Acoustic Therapy: The Calm of Nature's Soundscape

The tranquility of the natural environment offers an acoustic break from urban noise pollution. According to a study published in the International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, natural sounds have been found to lower stress and cortisol levels. This can also promote better heart rate variability, which is an indicator of the body's ability to respond to stress.

My Oura ring scores one night after my most recent camping trip. My lowest heart rates were the nights I spent in the woods and the night after. According to data from Whoop, the average HRV for men is around 40.

7. Screen-Free Views: Rest for the Eyes and Mind

Camping allows our eyes—and, by extension, our minds—to rest from the constant focus on screens, reducing eye strain and promoting mental relaxation and cognitive presence. Reduced screen time can alleviate eye strain, also known as computer vision syndrome. Additionally, engaging with the natural environment can decrease mental fatigue, as research in the Journal of Environmental Psychology indicates.

8. Unplugging from Technology: Mental Health Restoration

A retreat into the outdoors means a retreat from the constant connectivity of gadgets. Disconnecting from technology can reduce the overload of sensory stimuli that often leads to stress. It can also improve attention span and focus, as suggested by a study in the journal Environment and Behavior.

Waking up with sunrise and some freshly brewed coffee - followed by paddle boarding and swimming. It’s amazing how good you feel when you align your day with the rising and setting of the sun, and are active all day.

9. Communal Fire Gatherings: Social Bonding and Relaxation

The ritual of gathering around a fire offers therapeutic benefits, including lowered blood pressure and enhanced social connections. Social interaction and community-building activities like gathering around a fire can lead to the release of oxytocin. This hormone promotes bonding and can lower blood pressure, as found in research published by the American Psychological Association.

10. Adaptive Growth: Building Resilience and Self-Confidence

Camping pushes us to adapt to new environments, fostering resilience and boosting self-confidence. These experiences of overcoming outdoor challenges translate into a strengthened mindset for everyday life. This can enhance self-efficacy, which is linked to self-confidence, as per Albert Bandura's Social Cognitive Theory.

Evolutionarily consistent blood pressure reducing medication.

Conclusion

Understanding the extensive benefits to both physical and mental health that camping offers is a compelling incentive to periodically step away from our daily routines and reconnect with nature. It's easy to let years slip by without experiencing the simplicity and restorative power of sleeping outdoors, perhaps thinking it's not significant, we're too busy, or outdoor sleeping just isn't for us. But it's worth challenging those thoughts. Reach out to someone experienced in camping and plan to spend some days and nights outside. You'll discover firsthand the health benefits camping has to offer.

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