5 reasons to make your next end-of-year trips in nature
End-of-year trips in nature: Did you know that spending time in nature can help improve brain function, reduce stress, keep you more alert, be exciting, and help protect endangered wildlife? It's true!
After spending many days locked in cities with unbearable traffic jams, surrounded by a sea of asphalt and traffic that extends over hundreds of square kilometers, making journeys between a labyrinth of 4-lane highways, there comes a moment when the visual noise of billboards, power lines, parking lots, shop windows, neon signs and cars flying at many kilometers per hour, there comes a moment when the brain says enough.
End-of-year trips to Doñana
Doñana is a natural paradise located in the southwest of the Iberian Peninsula. A place where thousands of birds fly overhead, taking advantage of diverse ecosystems such as marshes and dunes to survive the extreme temperatures of each year.
It's also the most emblematic site for the recovery of the Iberian lynx, which is beginning to emerge from its critically endangered status. As a fun fact, did you know it's the most endangered feline on the planet?
Doñana is a haven of peace and tranquility, especially in the autumn, winter and early spring seasons.
As soon as you start walking on the sand, you feel an inner peace. You can't hear the cars on the coastal road above, nor can you see the housing developments on the hilltops; the cliffs were a barrier to everything but this slice of the natural world beneath your feet.
Recipe: A dose of nature
The moment you arrive in Doñana, you realize you're in a truly special place. It turns out there's scientific research that supports what I experienced: nature is good for us, in every way imaginable.
Although some people have lived in close harmony with the earth for millennia, most people in the world today reside in cities for the first time in human history. And this is the time in history when we spend the least amount of time outdoors: children are in front of screens for 7.5 hours a day, and many adults aren't far behind. This loss of connection with the natural world is taking a toll on our bodies, our minds, and our social relationships.
Richard Louv tracks these changes in his book, "Last Child in the Woods: Saving Our Children from Nature-Deficit Disorder." But research tells us that regular doses of nature can alter these trends. While a daily walk in a neighborhood park is great, a longer escape into the natural world has enormous health benefits across the board.
Why not make your next vacation an adventure in nature?
1) NATURE IS GOOD FOR OUR BRAIN
Spending time in nature improves our mental functioning, helping us focus and remember better. A 2009 article in the Boston Globe follows up on studies showing that hospital patients recover more quickly when they see trees from their windows, and that women improve their attention spans when they live in places overlooking a lawn rather than concrete. Scientists theorize that such fleeting glimpses of nature enhance brain performance by providing a mental break from the cognitive processing demands of urban environments.
City dwellers, constantly bombarded by visual and auditory noise, find it harder to concentrate and are more prone to irritability and impulsive behavior. Stephen Kaplan, a psychologist at the University of Michigan, hypothesizes that immersion in nature could have a restorative effect. He observed that children with attention deficit disorder, for example, have fewer behavioral problems and are better able to focus on tasks when surrounded by trees and animals. Even looking at a picture of a natural environment can improve attention and memory.
2) NATURE HELPS US COPE WITH STRESS
Reflecting the concerns of the Children and Nature Network, a British report warns that the mental health of 21st-century children is at risk due to a lack of exposure to the natural world enjoyed by past generations. The report's author, Dr. William Bird, advisor to Natural Health England, has compiled evidence that people are healthier and live better lives if they get out into the countryside or, at least, spend time in parks or gardens. Bird says studies show that people deprived of contact with nature are at greater risk of depression and anxiety, while stress levels decrease when they spend time in green spaces. An active family nature holiday (ideally without the distractions of mobile devices) can help both parents and children calm their nerves and relax.
3) NATURE VS CHILDHOOD OBESITY
Generally, when people enjoy nature, they are active – climbing peaks, kayaking, dog walking. As we have come to spend less time outdoors, we have become heavier as a result. Our society faces a whole host of ills called «diseases of the indoor life,» which often accompany obesity: type 2 diabetes, high blood pressure, heart disease, asthma, and non-alcoholic fatty liver disease, as well as vitamin D deficiency, osteoporosis, myopia, depression, and increased ADD levels.
Even the government recognizes the social benefits of people returning to nature. The President's Outdoors initiative aims to protect America's natural resources and counter sedentary lifestyles by reconnecting Americans with the farms, ranches, rivers, forests, national and local parks, fishing holes, and beaches that offer opportunities for people to stay active and healthy. The project complements his Let's Move Outdoors initiative and Michelle Obama's fight against childhood obesity. A key goal of both programs is to transform our public lands into public health resources, where the benefits extend beyond simply getting people to exercise.
4) NATURE OFFERS AUTHENTIC ADVENTURE AND DISCOVERY
When my children were young, he took us on a trip to Orlando. There was the obligatory visit to Disney World, of course, but we also spent a day at Wekiwa Springs State Park where we rented a canoe and paddled among alligators, turtles, and herons under diaphanous curtains of Spanish moss. I remember asking my son, then 7, which he liked better—the ride at Disney World or our canoe trip. Expecting me to give an immediate nod to Magic Kingdom, instead he paused, reflected, and said, «Hmmm… I can’t say!» Even then, he was captivated by the authenticity of our experience of nature, feeling a sense of wonder that was tapped into even more deeply when our family visited the Galápagos in 2008 and Churchill last year. My children were positively enchanted as they swam with sea lions and snorkeled with penguins and turtles, then came face-to-face with polar bears in the Canadian tundra (through the protective glass of our Polar Rover window!).
Children's Wonderland is not just the province of children when it comes to nature adventures.
Travelers accustomed to spending time in nature can be shy; only 51% of visitors to Grand Canyon National Park venture below the rim despite the many well-maintained trails. That's why a trip led by an experienced guide can be just the ticket. Nat Hab expedition leaders are gifted in adventure presentation, ensuring clients' safety and comfort no matter how remote the destination.
5) THE NATURAL WORLD IS DISAPPEARING — ENJOY IT WHILE YOU CAN
To avoid being too pessimistic, the fact is that many of the planet's most remarkable natural landscapes are threatened or being forever altered by development, deforestation, climate change, pollution, and population pressures. Now is the time to see what remains. More than 20 percent of the Amazon rainforest has been cut down. Ice is disappearing from the eponymous glacier's national park. Endemic lemurs in Madagascar—found nowhere else on Earth—are targeted by poachers or fall victim to illegal logging.
The good news is that responsible ecotourism can help save places and creatures like these. When countries and communities discover that there is greater economic value in protecting their environment and wildlife for their enjoyment, there is the necessary incentive to do so. Africa's mountain gorillas would likely be extinct today if it weren't for people's desire to experience nature, coupled with the efforts of international conservation groups to save them.
All sorts of compilations have been published cataloging the most vulnerable natural places on Earth. Check out lists like Newsweek's 100 Endangered Places and How to Save Them, Mother Nature's 10 Places to Visit Before They Disappear, Frommer's 500 Places to See Before They Disappear, and the United Nations list of World Heritage in Danger.
For all these reasons, taking end-of-year trips in nature brings only advantages and benefits to children.
