Modern day human beings have existed for more than 200,000 years. During the last 50,000 years we have started to migrate to different parts of the world. We have crossed mountains, rivers, valleys and desserts to spread out. Our brains have been wired to explore the unknown and adventure is part of our inherent trait.

However, over the last 2,000 years as we became more civilized our lifestyle has become more sedentary. Especially now, where we have become very desk bound and have lost the inner desire to explore the great unknowns.

For the average person, mountain climbing and trekking seem to be something that is tiring and risky hobby. It conjures up images of feeling drained of energy, muscle aches and cramps and even health risks such as insect bites and poisonous plants at the very least and altitude sickness HACE and HAPE at worst. Besides that, a trekking or climbing trip requires you to plan in advance and even maybe take a couple of days off from work. But there are a lot of benefits to these activities. In fact far more benefits than the associated risks and our bodies and minds have been trained to explore. Trekking and mountain climbing provide a complete set of benefits from the physical, mental and social aspects.

Physical

Your entire physical body benefits from trekking or climbing in many ways.

Your heart pumps at maximum capacity while your whole body works out.

It reduces blood pressure.

It increases the capacity of your lungs by heavy breathing.

It also clears the lungs of residual air that resides in your lungs after you breathe out and in turn breathe in clean nature’s air.

It reduced blood sugar levels.

It increases blood oxygenation levels. Meaning the amount of oxygen that your blood carries to different parts of your body.

It helps to control your weight by burning fat deposits throughout the body.

It improves coordination of movement between your eyes, hands and feet.

It improves your sense of balance as you need to walk over uneven terrain or even small ridges.

It improves bone density as you carry heavy loads at varying inclines.

It improves your skin texture and tone.

It tones up your muscles and makes them more resilient and flexible.

It is the perfect interval training where there are bursts of extreme effort such as scrambling and rock climbing followed by mild walking or short sprinting.

It improves the quality sleep.

Mental

Photo credits – Flickr

Apart from the physical aspect, trekking and mountain climbing seem to benefit your mental state a lot more than what is perceived.

It helps you to focus on the current state.

Extreme sense of happiness, contentment and fulfillment.

It helps you to stay calm and reduce stress.

It helps in self-esteem.

It helps in better perception and self-awareness.

It also helps in improving your creativity.

Besides that, your brain recharges more by triggering areas that are not normally active when you are at work or doing your mundane daily job.

Social

Photo credits – Flickr

Trekking and mountain climbing with friends and families can provide a sense of satisfaction that you wont get anywhere else.

More time for bonding with family members or group.

Expectations are more basic which makes you appreciate the simple things in life.

Acceptance of different kinds of people and the ability to adjust and get along.

Less reliance on technology means more reliance on one-to-one conversations.

People who undergo a common shared experience have a lasting relationship long after the experience is over.

More time for introspection and reflection of yourself.

More appreciation of the world and your place in it.

Personal

There are a lot of personal benefits that help you in your day to day life.

It helps you in planning ahead and being organized.

It helps you to learn some basic life and survival skills.

It helps you to focus on what is more important.

No other activity can provide such a complete set of benefits to the body, mind and soul. Whats more, you get to see some of nature’s beauty. The breathtaking views, the clean air and the vast expanse of space spread out before you.

References

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