Happiness

[Nick]

I thought this was pretty interesting. I may be grasping, but it seems to me like there's a solid connection between happiness and outdoor recreation and open spaces. Or is it just because we have the highest use of anti-depressants and pain killers out here?

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/08/02/happiest-states-_n_3696160.html

 

[leatherman]

I think there is enough data there to prove some sort of correlation. On a similar note, did you see this article published last week in Inside Science about how going camping (or backpacking) can provide for better sleep due to limited exposure to artificial lighting and the resetting of our internal circadian clocks. All interesting stuff, and just more proof that being active outdoors is beneficial.

 

[Laura]

I went to college at UC Santa Barbara and I can attest that Santa Barbara is a great place to live. Probably not coincidentally, it's also where I got into the outdoors, starting by riding my bike everywhere. Boulder CO is next on my list of great towns. It probably isn't accidental that both of those places are also outrageously expensive to live.

 

[TannerT]

No doubt that there is a link between the outdoors and happiness. The outdoors is a place where you go to feel free, destress, and reenergize ourselves from the hustle and bustle of the city, where most of us live. It is also the place where you feel completely vulnerable, alone, isolated...and that's why we go! I've always thought that paradox interesting. All I know is that I wont stop pursuing the outdoors, and my wife wont let me either!

Thanks for the post, Salud!