You may be wondering why I included 25 benefits of adventure. “You could’ve stuck with the top 5 or 10!” Well, yeah. But I wanted to include a well-rounded perspective, with evidence from reliable studies to back it all up. You may not relate to every single one of them. But chances are, someone else will have different takeaways from you.

So, without further ado, here are over two dozen incredible benefits of getting out there and discovering more of who you were created to be.

Chapters in This Guide

  1. Mental and Emotional Benefits of Adventure
  2. Physical Benefits of Adventure
  3. Intrapersonal and Interpersonal Benefits of Adventure
  4. Adventure Advances Self-Development
  5. Adventure Builds Character
  6. Adventure Can Help Us Heal
  7. Why Adventure Is Important

Mental and Emotional Benefits of Adventure

Adventure benefits your mental and emotional health.

1. Mood Boost

Put simply, adventure can make us feel pretty dang good. An increase in physical activity is associated with better mood, social life, and self-esteem, as well as decreased depressive symptoms and other mental illness indicators.1

People who live near green spaces, maintained or unmaintained natural environments, have decreased mental illness, depression, and anxiety. They also have better vitality and healthy hormone profiles, according to research from Indiana University Bloomington. Green space can play a huge role in preventing mood disorders, neurotic behavior, stress, and depression. And the more time you spend outdoors, the greater the positive mental health effects.

2. Awe

When you’re immersed in the beauty of nature – on top of a mountain, deep in the ocean, peering out into a vast, unending desert, or immersed in a tranquil forest, you might experience newfound inspiration.

Awe – defined as “a feeling of reverential respect mixed with fear or wonder” – is a natural byproduct of adventure. Awe helps us think about ourselves and our worries less and can lead to greater generosity, compassion, ethical decision-making, and other prosocial values.2

3. Fulfillment

If you take a trip, train for a race, learn a new skill, or engage in another adventurous activity, you’ll likely feel more satisfied and fulfilled than if you didn’t.

Accomplishment leads to fulfillment and joy. So rather than turning your head and thinking, “l’ll do that next year,” take the plunge. Do the thing that lights you up. It might be more beneficial to you than you can possibly imagine. Then when you’re done, you can proudly say, “I did that. That was hard, and I’m pretty awesome.”

4. Peace

After just 10 minutes of going outside and spending time in nature, you can start to feel less stressed – both mentally and physically. And, according to research, you don’t have to even be doing much to feel the positive effects. Just walking or sitting outside does the trick. Within 10-50 minutes in a natural space, you can expect an improvement in mood, focus, blood pressure, and heart rate.3

Another fun fact is that spending time in forest environments promotes lower concentrations of cortisol, greater parasympathetic nerve activity, and lower sympathetic nerve activity.4 In plain English, the forest, compared to the city, can lead to lower stress and greater relaxation.

 

Physical Benefits of Adventure

Adventure benefits your mind and body.

5. Increased Intelligence

Did you know that adventure can improve your brain health and sharpen your mind? Professor of Psychology and Neuroscience at Georgetown University Abigail Marsh is known for the following quote:

“Over time, adventurous activities may actually improve your brain health…. That’s because you’re constantly learning, which creates new synapses and strengthens existing ones, a process known as neuroplasticity.”5

Regular physical activity can help your brain grow. Your hippocampus specifically, which naturally shrinks as we age (leading to impaired memory and higher risk for dementia) can actually grow through regular physical activity – even into late adulthood!

6. Strength and Fitness

This one may seem obvious. Finding activities you love to do outside can make other forms of exercise – that you may not be as thrilled about – easier. Not only will you build more physical and mental endurance, but studies have also shown that exercise feels easier in natural environments.

Training is a crucial component to any adventure activity, including building mental and physical endurance and getting enough nutrition. Getting fitter, stronger, and healthier will help you enjoy your chosen activity more and more over time.

7. Longevity

Spending time outdoors can also help you live longer! A large 2018 study showed that increased greenspace exposure is associated with numerous health benefits, including a decrease in each of the following:6

  • Heart rate
  • Cholesterol
  • Risk of type II diabetes
  • All-cause mortality
  • Cardiovascular mortality
  • Hypertension
  • Incidence of stroke
  • Asthma
  • Coronary heart disease

8. Immune System Boost

Just getting outside under the sun will give you a boost of Vitamin D – good for your blood cells, bones, and immune system.7 And nonharmful microorganisms in nature can help prepare your body to better handle serious infections.

Have you ever heard that “dirt is good for you?” While I’m not convinced that eating dirt is a great idea (like some believe), the healthy organisms in dirt do seem to benefit us as adults when we’re exposed to them as kids.

On the other hand, a completely sterile environment can lead to chronic inflammation (!). Studies have shown that children exposed to dirt had less incidence of inflammation as they grew into adulthood. FYI, inflammation is linked to various chronic illnesses like diabetes, heart disease, and Alzheimer’s.8

9. Better Sleep

Adventure sports and activities can require a lot of physical and mental energy. And when you’re physically and mentally exhausted at the end of the day, you’ll likely have an easier time sleeping like a baby at night.

Getting outside and into nature peels us away from our technology as well – including the blue light that can affect our natural sleep cycles. The blue light that comes from your phone, for example, stimulates your brain and makes you feel alert (literally elevating your heart rate and body temperature).

This may be a great thing during the day, and we get most of our blue light from the sun, which enhances our performance and attention. However, at night, when the sun is down, our bodies should naturally release melatonin to make us feel sleepy. Artificial lights that emit blue light (TVs, phones, LED lights, computer screens, etc.) suppress our body’s release of melatonin.9

So, for example, camping out in the wilderness or spending all day hiking will give you the natural air that helps you get better sleep, keeps you away from harmful blue lights, and helps you sleep longer and deeper after a full day.

Intrapersonal and Interpersonal Benefits of Adventure

Adventure can help us take better care of ourselves and build meaningful connections with others.

10. Quality Time

When you start learning a new sport or engaging in a new activity, you’ll likely start meeting new people with similar interests.

Let’s say you join a hiking group. You’ll meet a crew of people with shared goals. You’ll also have the opportunity to make new friends, become part of a community, encourage others, get awesome tips and advice, and maybe even build your own tribe of adventure buddies you’ll know for the rest of your life.

Matt Walker, author of the book Adventure in Everything, says adventure is comprised of five elements – one of them being great companionship. He says that adventure brings intensity, vitality, and energy into our relationships. And the way to find the most meaning and greatest success is by surrounding ourselves with friends, family, and colleagues who support adventure.

Great friendships can be forged through shared adventures.

11. Creativity

Did you know that creativity is a trait commonly found in thrill seekers? Adventurous activities can also lead to a state of flow (which we cover more in #15 below).

Flow is when you become so absorbed in a task that you’re fully engaged, have no distractions, and lose self-consciousness. A major advantage to experiencing this state – known as the Holy Grail of performance – is mastering skills and being inspired to create.

Traveling and learning new skills can also expand your mind and offer you new perspectives and ideas to inspire your creativity.

12. Better Work-Life Balance

Taking breaks from work and spending time doing things that fully engage your mind is healthy. One study found that 94% of those who took a well-managed, low-stress trip had as much or more energy after returning. 55% returned to work with higher levels of energy.

Forbes went so far as to say that taking time off from work can save your life. It’s integral to sustained productivity, well-being, and high performance. Other benefits of having a good work-life balance and taking vacations include:

  • Increased mindfulness
  • Improved heart health
  • Less stress
  • More brainpower
  • Better sleep

Adventure Advances Self-Development

Adventure helps us build new skills, grow as human beings, and learn to thrive.

13. Adaptability

Adventure involves not knowing what’s coming next. That uncertainty produces, in most of us, some degree of fear. But if we can get to the outer edge of our comfort zones and step into the unknown without allowing terror and anxiety to take over, we can focus, get clear on our next steps, and take on the challenge with excitement rather than dread.

As we focus on the things we can control – our own actions, intentions, and performance – and let go of the rest, we can face difficult challenges gracefully and adapt to changing conditions with a heightened sense of awareness and a deeper sense of peace in the process.

Okay, okay, I know that was a mouthful. If you want to learn more about this concept in greater depth, check out “Redefining Adventure.”

14. Unexpected Skills

You’ll not only gain the skills you’d expect – those of your new hobby. You’ll also hone your interpersonal skills and emotional intelligence by encouraging others to join in the ventures that bring you so much joy. You could find yourself leading a beginner backpacking group, becoming a strong role model for someone in your life, or living everyday life with more kindness and confidence. The sky’s the limit!

You’ll also get lots of practice learning different ways of problem solving on the fly, processing your thoughts in healthy ways, understanding why you do things the way you do, and discovering how you cope with various challenges along the way.

In other words, you’ll learn more about yourself, including what you need and want in life – and how to chase it! Your self-awareness will increase as you face unknowns with courage and confidence and begin to realize your amazing potential.

15. Flow

I covered this topic more in-depth in my last article (“Why Do We Seek Adventure?”), so I’ll just touch on it briefly here. Flow is the state of mind you enter when you’re completely immersed in an activity. When you’re doing something new and exciting or pushing yourself to your limit, you’re totally focused and engrossed in the task at hand.

“In the zone,” you’re energized, highly involved, and can experience a high level of enjoyment. You’ll also develop skills that help you better regulate your emotions, master skills, inspire creativity, enhance your performance in other areas, and much more.

It’s like a magical state of mind that can help us reach new and greater heights.

16. Focus

Focusing on one thing at a time, which you’re forced to do when you’re in a state of flow, it’s healthy for your brain! You’re giving your experience your undivided attention. Contrary to popular belief, multitasking is actually bad for you. It can even cause short-term memory loss, brain shrinkage, and drain your energy.

“Monotasking” – focusing on a singular task without distraction – can come with a myriad of benefits, such as:10

  • Increased mindfulness
  • Increased overall wellbeing
  • Less stress
  • Increased productivity
  • Fewer mistakes and errors
  • Increased information retention
  • Flow state

Adventure Builds Character

Adventure helps us build our identity and shape our character.

17. Confidence

Participating in adventurous activities and trying things you’ve never done before can help you build self-confidence. By achieving goals you may have never thought possible and honing your skills in a certain area, you build trust with yourself and develop more self-assurance.

Just pushing past your comfort zone, whether you’re climbing up the side of a mountain or going to therapy, can give you a feeling of pride and achievement – boosting your confidence in the process.

Exercise and outdoor activity have also been correlated with self-efficacy – confidence in your ability to carry out the behaviors needed to achieve your performance goals. Simply building a regular exercise routine can increase your confidence. A 2017 study found that individuals engaging in physical activity display greater confidence than those who don’t.1

Now, I’m going to go a little deeper here, because I’m pretty passionate about this topic. So here’s some more research I found interesting and encouraging. I personally wish I had a program like one of the following growing up as a young girl in the 90s-2000s.

Literature from the 1990s suggested that adolescent girls were experiencing a “developmental crisis” and “loss of self.” The literature led adventure education practitioners to develop various programs to help girls, including Dirt Divas, Connecting with Courage, Women’s Wilderness Institute, Girl Ventures, and Passages Northwest.

A 2013 paper evaluated one program in particular – Dirt Divas – that uses mountain biking and girl-centered curriculum to support girls’ positive development. They found that Dirt Divas had the following impact on girls:11

  • Increased confidence in physical activity
  • Feelings of physical strength
  • Confidence
  • Courage
  • Self-esteem
  • Resiliency
  • Perseverance
  • A sense of self
  • Connection with other girls

18. Body Image

Exposure to nature is also linked to more positive body image, and spending time outside gives us opportunities for healthy body-image-coping strategies.12 Leaving behind the unrealistic expectations we constantly face online and in our daily lives (ads, social media, work, school, etc.) that may trigger negative body image can give us a healthier perspective and restore healthy thinking.

19. Trust

Another life-changing benefit of adventure that can shape our identities and hone our character is trust. Adventure can help you build trust with yourself. Simply by setting goals and then reaching them, you’ll build greater confidence in yourself as you follow through with plans.

Why does this matter? Because we can fill so many voids in our lives when we learn to trust ourselves more deeply. And building trust with ourselves will help us show up better for others.

So here’s a quick list of ways to build trust with yourself – pulled from one of my favorite podcasts: The Carrie On Podcast (Episode 19). I encourage you to listen to the whole episode sometime for more context.

These tips apply to everyday life just as well as getting out into the world and adventuring.

  • Don’t be afraid of making mistakes.
  • Be kind to yourself when you get something wrong.
  • Use what you learn by applying it next time.
  • Be authentic with yourself, allowing yourself to process things as they happen.
  • Be truthful about your strengths and weaknesses. It will help you better understand your true self.
  • In painful times, give yourself space to vent, but carry on. Try not to miss deadlines, and don’t self-isolate. These things can break trust with yourself and others. Change the pace, if necessary, but follow through.
  • Accept compliments from others.
  • Find opportunities to encourage other people.
  • Take care of yourself and your body. Eat healthy, get enough sleep, take breaks when you need to, limit drinking, and treat yourself to things that are really kind to yourself (e.g., Epsom salt baths, music, candles, etc.).
  • Be grateful for your body and how much it does for you.

When you love yourself deeply, it will flow into other areas of your life. You’ll become more confident, filled with peace, and more joyful. People won’t be able to help but notice and catch some of the light you radiate wherever you go.

20. Identity

Developing a strong identity – including clarity about who you are, your value system, and how you fit into society – is essential to living a successful life.

A study of adventure therapy participants showed significant outcomes in the short term in seven different categories contributing to identity development:

  1. Academic (perception of learning ability and scholastic performance)
  2. Behavior (the ability to act within and adjust to an environment)
  3. Clinical (psychological state and level of mental functioning)
  4. Family development (the ability of family members to interact with each other)
  5. Physical (level of health and bodily functioning)
  6. Self-concept (perceptions and thoughts about self)
  7. Social development (capacity to interact within social situations)

Adventure therapy, in this case, involved outdoor activities and experiential learning exercises to help participants deal with psychosocial problems. Key elements included the presence of and interaction with nature, perceived risk to create a positive response to stress, learning through experience, meaningful engagement, and more.

21. Perspective Shift

New experiences, whether you’re learning a new skill like trail running or mountain biking or traveling internationally, offer us new perspectives. We start seeing things differently as we discover things for the first time – firsthand! These perspectives shape our minds and how we view the world. They can also develop our character.

When you better understand what it takes to climb a mountain, you gain empathy and compassion for others who have worked as hard as you to achieve a similar goal. Meeting people from different cultures is a simple but life-changing encounter that can change someone forever. Not only will you better understand others, but you’ll learn more about yourself – your capabilities, how you view the world, maybe even your purpose in life.

You’ll gain authentic humility as you explore more of the world and realize how small you are in comparison, as well as how connected we truly are. Break down barriers by engaging with people from groups you once feared. Have conversations that reignite your faith in humanity. It can be life-changing.

Adventure Can Help Us Heal

Adventure can help us reflect, process our thoughts and emotions, deal with trauma, and find hope.

22. Natural Highs

Adventuring can give you a natural high, releasing all kinds of “feel-good hormones.” These include dopamine, oxytocin, endorphins, serotonin, and adrenaline. These hormones help us feel happy and excited about life.

Adventure therapy is even an effective treatment for those dealing with addictions and substance abuse, giving people a natural high in their post-treatment lives. What’s more, making new friends while adventuring can add extra encouragement to the mix, keeping people away from harmful addictions and negative influences that may lead to relapsing.13

23. Self-Reflection

In a paper outlining the mental health benefits of adventure and outdoor education programs, mindfulness was one of the topics of focus. The evidence presented came from two pilot studies: “Crossing the Alps” and “Friluftsliv” (a fun Norwegian term for “outdoor life”). Each study investigates the effects outdoor adventures have on young people.

Mindfulness is “the awareness and acceptance of present-moment experiences.” The kids and young adults who participated in the programs reported higher levels of mindfulness.

During adventurous activities, we tend to be more focused and in a state of heightened arousal as we face various challenges and unknowns. This can help us direct more attention to our own thoughts and feelings. Then as we’re living in the moment, we’re highly aware on what’s happening around us and can accept our present-moment experiences.14

24. Treating Trauma

Adventure activities can effectively help some people deal with trauma – and treat the heightened and ongoing state of fear that trauma can cause.

According to Aspiro, adventure can help people finish the arousal cycle (which trauma sets off). Adventure provokes fear as it introduces perceived risk and then helps participants move past the fear state to complete the full cycle so they feel safe again.

Another study, on combat-related posttraumatic chronic stress disorder, found nature adventure to be an effective treatment for rehabilitation. Nature Adventure Rehabilitation (NAR) allows participants to face tasks designed to:

  • Empower them
  • Change negative self-images
  • Enhance self-efficacy
  • Restore hope and the ability to enjoy life
  • Develop control over symptoms
  • Improve social and emotional regulation skills

The results of this study showed medium improvements in depression, social and emotional quality of life, and posttraumatic symptoms. It also showed large improvements in hope, perceived control over illness, and daily functioning.15

25. Hope

Over the last 60 years or so, adventure and wilderness programs have been used as a therapeutic intervention for young people involved in the U.S. juvenile justice system. In 2009, a review was published on the Wilderness Endeavors Program, a correctional program for young offenders in Minnesota.

The study showed a significant increase in hope for the future (along with significant increases in self-efficacy) of those who participated in the program.

Why Adventure Is Important

If you made it this far, thank you – and congratulations.

Adventure and thrill-seeking can look different for everyone. For one person, it might look like skydiving at least once a week or surfing every single day, weather permitting. For another, it can look like writing a novel, creating art, engaging in community service, or being the first person to solve an age-old problem.

Whatever adventure means to you, whatever sets your soul on fire, chase that.

We only have one life to live. So let’s get out there and continue learning, growing, changing for the better, and building a life we love – so that our joy can spill over into other people’s lives and make the world a little bit better than it was before we were planted on this earth.

 

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