Five Ways Rafting Can Help You Unwind

Whitewater rafting is a great way to reduce stress and help you unwind. Whether you’re an expert rafter or it’s you’re first time, the experience can last a lifetime and help to lower stress levels while connecting you with nature. So take a break from the stressors of your everyday life and hit the mental reset button with an outdoor river adventure.

Below are the top five ways rafting can help you unwind.

Nature Reduces Stress

Whether you’re relaxing under a tree or diving raft first into some raging rapids, being in nature is the ultimate natural stress reliever. Just listening to the sound of rapids flowing, crashing against the banks and rocks should be enough to take your mind of any stressors in your life. In addition to that, you get to enjoy the fresh air of the great outdoors, helping you find peace and clarity through the tranquil environment.

It’s proven that while you connect with nature, you boost your immune system, lower your blood pressure, reduce the levels of your stress hormones and release endorphins, which helps to lower your overall stress levels.

Experience an Adventure

Get your mind off the stressful things in your life and go experience an adventure. It’s proven that having new experiences can increase happiness. Adventurous activities can keep your blood pumping and accelerate your heartrate, making you feel fully alive.

When you feel alive, it acts as a detox for all the small things in life that start to wear you down. Plus adventures are a great way to spend your money. Rather than spending your money on physical items, you’re giving yourself an experience that most wouldn’t trade for the world. As the motto goes - money can’t buy happiness, unless of course you’re spending it on a river trip or another unforgettable experience.

Build Relationships

Building long lasting relationships and meaningful connections helps increase your happiness and lead to better fulfillment. While rafting, you work as a team to travel down the river. This results in new friendships, enhanced team building strategies and an overall sense of achievement.

Getting closer with your friends or family, and building relationships with other can increase your happiness levels. This social bonding experience is one of the best ways to bring together a community of rafters and help them forget about all the outside factors weighing them down.

Increase Physical Activity

Exercise helps enhance both your physical and mental health. Rafting is a great way to get exercise, which helps to destress and increase your fitness and sense of well-being. Physical activity also helps to produce and release endorphins, which are considered your feel-good neurotransmitters.

Whether you’re paddling your heart out on the raft or get out to swim (if your guide approves), getting in some exercise will help put your mind at ease and make your body stronger.

Clear Your Mind

Have you ever felt like your mind is overloaded? With work, traffic, events or other daily tasks, your mind can start to feel stressed and maxed out. That’s why it’s beneficial to get out of the busy city and mundane routine to take a trip to the river.

Allow your thoughts and mind the chance to refresh, which can help it function better in the long run. Just by being in nature, experiencing new things and traveling outdoors, you can improve your brain’s performance. That’s why spending some quality time, giving your brain a break from the everyday nuisances can act as a reset button for your mental state.

Teton Whitewater

This blog is brought to you by Teton Whitewater, a whitewater rafting company located in Jackson, Wyoming. Their professional rafting guides lead trips down the Snake River, including unforgettable journeys through scenic Grand Teton National Park.