Yes! Hiking and other forms of exercise can do a great deal to help you sleep at night.
Why can hiking help you sleep?
People who have trouble sleeping are usually experiencing a hyper-arousal response of stress in their system.
Hiking can lead to better sleep because it helps to mute the body’s response to stress through engaging both the body and the mind.
Exercise for the body and the brain
Hiking is an ideal form of movement because it engages every part of your body, as well as your brain. You need to stay alert to uneven terrain and obstacles, all while taking in the beautiful scenery around you.
Hiking heightens the awareness of nearly all the senses.
Warms the body so it can cool down later
A physiological trigger that can help alert the body that it’s time to sleep is body temperature, and hiking can raise and keep body temperature up as much as two degrees.
This increase during the day will allow the body to cool at night, triggering that response in the body and encouraging it to sleep.
Keeps the mind alert so it can rest later
One more added benefit of hiking is alertness. Studies show that those who feel more “awake” and alert during the day sleep sounder and longer at night.
HIking arouses those senses and rushes the body with endorphins, which leave you feeling mentally alert.
Being exposed to natural light during your hike can also improve your sleep at night, as it reinforces the natural sleep-wake cycle.