By Amanda Jowsey
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Warmer weather is finally approaching. And we may all still be trying to shed that physical, mental, and emotional harsh, dry, bumpy, itchy, stressed out (maybe kind of hairy) winter skin. Here is a roundup of the 5 best outdoor activities to help you chill out in Western New York this summer and get you back to a more natural and relaxed version of yourself.
1.) Hiking:
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Artpark Gorge Trail, Lewiston NY
The Buffalo region offers some of the most diverse hiking options: deep in the Niagara Gorge or beside the rushing Falls, the industrial past of downtown Buffalo, and the country hills of the Southern-tier to name a few. There's a ton of places to choose from, and now thanks to apps like All Trails, finding the perfect place is easier than ever.
"All Trails has 25 scenic trails in the Buffalo area. Enjoy hand-curated trail maps, along with reviews and photos from nature lovers like you. Explore one of 22 easy hiking trails in Buffalo or discover kid-friendly routes for your next family trip. Check out some trails with historic sights or adventure through the nature areas surrounding Buffalo that are perfect for hikers and outdoor enthusiasts at any skill level."
All Trails is just the tip of the hiking iceberg in WNY. There are hundreds of hiking destinations all across the region. You can even venture further and explore Hudson Valley and the Adirondack region for even more breathtaking adventures, like Whiteface Mountain.
Health Benefits of Hiking
Low stress, strain and pressure to your body with all the heart-healthy benefits of other more strenuous, or high-impact exercise. Nature is a free gym. Forget spending all that money on gym memberships that you never use. Go outside and get triple the benefit, all while saving money.
Helps combat diabetes, hypertension and obesity. Hiking is one of the best ways to stabilize cholesterol levels and aid weight loss. About100 calories are burned for every mile hiked. According to the American Hiking Association (AHA), "People who lose weight through hiking or walking maintain the loss and continue to lose while those who lose through dieting tend to gain weight again quickly."
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Hiking helps to reduce symptoms of anxiety and relieve stress. Adrenaline accumulates in our bodies due to years of stressful experiences. Our autonomic nervous system is always at war with itself. Our sympathetic nervous system-- fight or flight-- is overstimulated by the world we live in. It overrides our parasympathetic nervous system-- rest and digest-- in our over-stressed lives. Over time, this built up adrenaline causes muscle tension and anxiety (American Psychological Association). Walking, or hiking, releases this adrenaline and "an immediate decrease in tension and anxiety" results (AHA). The endorphins released by your body during a walk can also have an immediate positive impact on mood that lasts throughout the day.
2.) Free Outdoor Fitness Classes with "Fitness in the Parks:"
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Outer Harbor, Buffalo NY
"Independent Health and the YMCA Buffalo Niagara are proud to present the 12th Annual Fitness in the Parks, bringing our free fitness classes outside for you to enjoy. These free community fitness classes are designed to encourage physical activity and healthy lifestyles. All classes are led by YMCA certified instructors."
Dates and classes for the 2023 series are TBA, but if it's anything like last year's selection, it won't disappoint the fitness enthusiast-- or not so enthusiast-- in all of us. These fun classes in beautiful locations around the city should be able to get anyone up and moving. Classes often include: HIIT (High Intensity Interval Training), ZUMBA® at Canalside, Barre style classes, La’Movement Fitness, Soma Cura Yoga at the waterfront, and a boot-camp style class called Fit Like a Gladiator.
Health Benefits of Outdoor Exercise
Naturally relieves symptoms of SAD (Seasonal Affective Disorder), depression, and anxiety. Sunshine boosts serotonin levels in the brain, and exercise naturally raises feel-good hormones. Exercising outside in the sunshine gives you an extra boost of stress relief.
Outdoor natural environments may provide some of the best all-round health benefits according to a study published by the NIH (National Institute of Health). Exercising outside can actually trick your brain into thinking the workout is easier, which may contribute to higher levels of success in meeting fitness goals. Research shows that these "lower levels of perceived exertion," in outdoor workouts reduce stress, improve mental fatigue, boost mood, self-esteem, and even a person's perception of how healthy they are.
"...Exercise within green spaces and the great outdoors may be a useful natural medicine to address health challenges facing developed countries. Alongside the social aspect which some individuals crave, it may also increase enjoyment and adherence to bring about positive behavior changes in a large proportion of the population" (NIH).
3.) Kayaking along the Buffalo River:
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Explore Silo City and the industrial past of downtown Buffalo with Buffalo Harbor Kayak Rentals & Tours. They offer paddle board and kayak rentals with all the gear required for your adventure on the water. Take it at your own pace during a one hour or a half-day excursion, or book a guided historical tour "and learn about Buffalo’s Waterfront history, from the Erie Canal to the Grain Elevators."
Health Benefits of Kayaking
Contributes to a happy, healthy heart. This amazing cardio workout lowers the risk of heart disease & stroke.
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Row row row your boat, it boosts your self-esteem. Not only does this whole-body workout tone and strengthen your entire body giving you major summer sexiness, overcoming the difficulty and succeeding at the challenge gives you a strong sense of accomplishment and well being.
Kayaking can improve focus and boost memory. Rowing releases neurotransmitters associated with an increased attention span and the ability to focus. It also exercises the Hippocampus, the part of your brain responsible for verbal memory and learning. Kayaking also increases blood flow to the brain and is said to stimulate the development of new brain cells (Blazin' Paddles, LLC).
4.) Free Outdoor Concerts:
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Thursday & Main Concert Series, Downtown Buffalo - Courtesy: Facebook
Music is my go-to therapy, and music outside, whether surrounded by nature or a city skyline, amplifies its healing power. Buffalo and WNY has over 25 different FREE CONCERT SERIES to offer this summer 2023. Check out this Buffalo and WNY 2023 Free & Community Concert Schedule to make finding the perfect outdoor summer music experience as breezy as a cool summer night.
Health Benefits of Music:
Listening to music keeps your brain young and in shape. According to Johns Hopkins School of Medicine, listening to music "provides a total brain workout," and keeps your brain engaged during the aging process." Music is structural, mathematical and architectural. It’s based on relationships between one note and the next. You may not be aware of it, but your brain has to do a lot of computing to make sense of it."
Music reduces stress, anxiety, blood pressure and pain. Music therapy is now being used in medical settings to help relieve these symptoms in patients and doctors during and after surgeries. One study found that patients who are undergoing surgery who listen to music under anesthesia may wake in less pain and even require less medicine for recovery. Another study found that "music was shown to diminish stress of the surgical team along with reducing the patient's anxiety before surgery." Although another aspect of that study did that find music created some distracting effects, they found that this could be corrected by selecting the right style and tempo of music. It was concluded that the positive effects of music on surgeon's performance was greater than the negative effects, and even found that "classical music when played with a low to medium volume can improve the surgical task performance by increasing both accuracy and speed."
Music improves sleep quality, mood, mental clarity and memory. "Listening to and performing music reactivates areas of the brain associated with memory, reasoning, speech, emotion, and reward" (Harvard Health Publishing, Harvard Medical School). Not only does music help us retrieve our memories, it also helps us create new ones. They also found in one study that after completing several weeks of moderate physical exercise while listening to music, one group of elderly participants scored higher on memory and reasoning tests.
5.) Have a picnic:
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Having a picnic with your friends, family, spouse, kids or even with yourself is a great way to honor your body and reconnect your roots with nature. You can combine this idea with any one of the above for the perfect summer experience.
Health Benefits of Picnics
Being in nature: According to the American Psychological Association, "exposure to nature has been linked to a host of benefits, including improved attention, lower stress, better mood, reduced risk of psychiatric disorders and even upticks in empathy and cooperation." A 2019 study found that nature has profoundly positive impacts on cognition. "Green spaces near schools promote cognitive development in children and green views near children’s homes promote self-control behaviors. Adults assigned to public housing units in neighborhoods with more green space showed better attentional functioning than those assigned to units with less access to natural environments. And experiments have found that being exposed to natural environments improves working memory, cognitive flexibility and attentional control, while exposure to urban environments is linked to attention deficits."
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Bonding with loved ones: We don't need research to tell us that spending time, and doing something relaxing, with our favorite people is its own kind of free therapy. Our friends and family can give us a sense of belonging and community, improve self-confidence and feelings of happiness, and help you cope with the difficulties of life.
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Help promote healthy eating, and help you reconnect with your food and your body. Food prepared at home is typically healthier than eating out, so when you take the time to prepare a picnic with all your favorite things, this intentional planning can help prevent you from making less responsible food choices.
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