10 good reasons that make hiking with Sentiers de France a healthy asset!

If hiking today has more and more followers in France, but also in the world, it is for its many positive effects on our physical and mental health, Sentiers de France reminds you of the 10 good reasons to choose a hike for your holidays:

1/ We all know that you have to walk at least 30 minutes a day to stay in shape, but the constraints of everyday life, the ease of driving and the monotonous nature of walking on a treadmill quickly undermine our good resolutions. On the other hand, the pleasure of a walk in the middle of nature with family, couples or friends allows you to combine business with pleasure.

2/ Hiking in a natural environment gives us a feeling of well-being and helps us to avoid efforts in an urban environment. Indeed, given the fine particles and ozone, efforts in the city are not recommended for fragile people (children, pregnant women and the elderly), but also for athletes who, by hyperventilating during physical effort, open their pulmonary alveoli… to pollutants!

3/ Walking is much less traumatic for the joints of the lower limbs than running or sports that require frequent and rapid changes of support (tennis, squash, badminton, etc.) and maintains the muscles (muscle strengthening), strengthens ligaments without weakening them (knees, ankles) and prevents osteoporosis. It is practiced at all ages, it is just necessary to choose a hike adapted to the physical level of the weakest person in the group.

4/ Hiking has an immediate and lasting effect on the mind by providing general well-being, but also by significantly reducing the risk of depression and the effects of stress. Hiking is a way to disconnect completely from your daily life and to share with friends and family special moments, increasingly rare moments in an ultra-connected world.

5/ Contact with nature stimulates our senses, our brain and participates in the restoration of cognitive functions such as memory and concentration. Studies show that hikers’ intellectual performance is better in terms of creative thinking and problem solving.

6/ More and more people are sensitive to WIFI waves. Walking in uncovered areas minimizes the mental fatigue generated by the use of our connected objects. This is even more true for our children who were born with them and who have great difficulty doing without their tablets, game consoles or handhelds and are therefore exposed to high levels of exposure to the waves.

7/ Hiking with Sentiers de France is accessible to all ages, from beginners to experienced hikers, because your luggage follows you by car from stage to stage and you only need a small backpack for the day. No backpack that cuts into your shoulders or causes back pain in the first kilometre! Ideally, the loads transported should never exceed 20% of the hiker’s weight! Hiking helps to protect the back and maintain abdominal muscles.

8/ Regular walking significantly reduces the risk of cardiovascular disease in the elderly, but also reduces the risk of diabetes, high blood pressure and obesity. a hike of a few hours mobilizes the production of aerobic energy (the one that burns fat) and helps to fight against excess cholesterol. Regular hiking would increase life expectancy by an average of 7 years overall.

9/ The hike has beneficial effects on bronchopulmonary diseases, including asthma (if treated and well controlled) by increasing lung capacity. It is also an undeniable ally in smoking cessation!

10/ Choosing to go hiking for a few days is taking time for yourself, for our loved ones while preserving our health capital.

To find your hike among the 150 that we offer Click here

Article written in collaboration with Doctor Elisabeth NEDELJKOVIC, General Practitioner