Getting outside is a great way of discovering new hobbies and passions! Get out to a new place, hike a new trail or, better yet, give orienteering a try. According to Participaction.com, other benefits of getting outside in nature include:

1. INCREASES PHYSICAL ACTIVITY: We move more when we’re outdoors. We take more steps and explore our surroundings. In fact, Statistics Canada reports that every hour spent outdoors is associated with 7 more minutes of heart-pumping physical activity, taking 762 more steps, and spending 13 fewer minutes being sedentary.

2. LOWERS BLOOD PRESSURE: Studies from the Center for Environment, Health and Field Sciences found that in comparison to city environments, getting a 30-minute dose of nature can lower your pulse and blood pressure.

3. PROVIDES ACCESS TO IMPROVED AIR QUALITY: Air quality indoors is often worse than outdoors. In fact, spending large amounts of time indoors increases exposure to infectious diseases and common allergens (like pet dander and dust), and may even lead to the development of chronic respiratory conditions.

4. HARNESSES IMPROVED SOCIAL INTERACTION: Being outdoors enhances our desire to seek and enhance social connections. Improved social interactions help fend off excessive feelings of loneliness while boosting mental wellness more generally.

5. BOOSTS MOODS: Forests and natural environments are considered therapeutic landscapes and have demonstrated many positive psychological effects. In fact, a recent study published in Public Health found that exposure to forests and trees led to increased liveliness, and decreased levels of stress, hostility and depression.

6. BENEFITS IMMUNITY: Breathing in the wilderness tonic of essential oils from the trees, leaves and soil (aka phytoncides) helps improve immune system function. A study in Japan found that individuals showed significant increases in NK cell activity (i.e., cells that fight infections and aid in cancer prevention) in the week after a forest visit, and these positive effects lasted a month following each visit to the woods.

7. DECREASES LEVELS OF STRESS AND ANXIETY: Increased exposure to the outdoors, including forested environments, has been shown to decrease levels of the stress hormone cortisol. Being in nature can have a profound positive impact on a person’s sympathetic (i.e., fight-or-flight) and parasympathetic (rest-and-digest) nervous systems. Essentially, people feel less stressed and more rested. Interestingly, some doctors are even prescribing walking outdoors as part of their patients’ treatment plans for managing stress and anxiety.