White water rafting is an adventurous and healthy way of exploring nature while diving deeper into the waters of the rivers. The fresh mountain air, a picturesque landscape, physical activity, and numerous rapids are no wonder why this sport is such healthy exercise.
While the adrenaline boost is one thing you’ll never forget on this adventure, you will also enjoy bonding with a team of people for a fun, thrilling experience that may change your perspective on the great outdoors.
The benefits are so evident that patients diagnosed with insomnia, anxiety, and PTSD have reported a significant reduction in the need for medications during and after their trip. Read on to learn more about the five amazing health benefits of white water rafting.
White water rafting is fun and offers health benefits like:
White water rafting with a group of fellow teammates is an excellent way for you to make enduring bonds and build fulfilling relationships. Families have to remain disconnected from smartphones and digital life through the trip. They instead end up focusing on helping one another, and on overcoming the rapids which increase the family bond.
A river rafting trip also helps foster teambuilding, a skill every company looks for in their employees. Going on a trip with teammates fosters deep and more fulfilling relationships. Team members get to know one another, and their strengths and weaknesses as they challenge the river together.
You could say whitewater river rafting is more like a physiological journey because you end up secluding yourself outdoors, far away from the modern world's stresses. You tend to become one with your team.
Through hard work, dedication, focus, and teamwork, your minds work together to overcome the many obstacles whitewater rafting offers.
White water river rafting trips help you gain confidence because it leaves you with a sense of accomplishment. You have no other option but to stop thinking about any other thing and concentrate only on overcoming intimidating water waves and rafting.
Taming the intimidating rapids seemed a Herculean task at first.
However, once you complete it, it leaves you with a sense of accomplishment that boosts your self-esteem levels. It, in the process, gives you the confidence to overcome other challenges life throws at you.
Whitewater river rafting is physically challenging because you need to use your upper body to paddle through the waters. It, in the process, strengthens your back, shoulders, arms, core, and even your thinking abilities.
And as you will be paddling for long hours at a stretch on a trip, rafters need the endurance to be able to do it. White water rafting excursions are between 90 minutes and 2 hours on the River and offer a full-fledged cardio workout.
Cardio helps burn fat and calories and also increases your lung size and heart muscle levels. Paddling also increases lung capacity, improves heart and lungs strength so that you burn more calories. You can, in fact, easily burn more than 800 calories a day with the physical exercise in whitewater rafting trips.
White water rafting reduces cortisol, the body's main stress hormone. Many studies suggest reduced stress can cause improved brain function, enhanced energy, and reduced body irritability. It's been scientifically proven that being outdoors in the fresh air helps your mental health and stress levels much more than any indoor activity.
The endorphins released reduce not only stress but also increase your concentration levels. You end up feeling more confident about solving any problems you face. Besides, the physical activity of whitewater rafting triggers the growth of new brain cells to help reduce the signs of aging.
Navigating the water, through all its turns and rapids, creates a thrill for adventure, which increases your adrenaline levels. It also helps you focus more on the fun side of the activity than the heavier addling. The scenic locations also satiate your taste for adventure by inducing a positive perspective on nature exploration.
The outdoor adventure keeps rafters out in the sunlight for a long time, which elevates your mood. According to research, all it takes is about 150 minutes of sunlight every day to reduce the effects of depression. So imagine how beneficial 2 hours of whitewater rafting outdoors in nature is to your mental health!
Sunlight exposure fills you with Vitamin D, an essential nutrient. Vitamin D is important for so many body processes like managing calcium levels, reducing swelling, and supporting glucose metabolism and strong bones.
Vitamin D also improves sleep and with a good night's sleep, your mind feels rested. You find it easier to make connections about whatever you learn through the day, thus boosting your intelligence. Besides, sleeping gives your brain the required time to balance out the hormones and chemicals that affect your mood and mental activities.
In short, a whitewater river rafting trip is definitely a better way than sitting at home or cooped up at the office. Spending time outdoors in the raft allows you to connect profoundly with your inner self and escape technological disobedience.
In return, you enjoy a peaceful moment, especially when you raft in the outdoor sereneness, quiet, and relaxing surroundings. Being out in nature is a great way to increase your health and life. And in the process, reap the many health benefits of white water rafting trips.
