It’s Saturday morning, but you still wake up early, excited to go fishing in a lake nearby. You are hurriedly packing a day’s lunch and calling your spouse to get ready while making sure you have all the tools required for fishing, including your Shimano spinning rods and reels. Sounds fun and exciting, right?
Well, it turns out you’re not alone, and it has been found in many studies that fishing not only has positive health benefits but also improves your mental well-being as well as your love life. Of course, there are obvious positive effects of being surrounded by nature close to a water body, with birds chirping and having a friend or someone special at your side. But fishing offers a lot more than that. One may ask what else? Well, let’s jump into that.
Benefits of Fishing:
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Physical health benefits
You may not realize, but fishing, in its own way, is a kind of bigger workout than one might assume. It takes quite a cardiovascular exercise walking to your favorite fishing spot, casting the line, and finally reeling in once you’ve caught a fish. These necessary steps you take during fishing stretches a range of muscles, resulting in strengthening of those muscles as well as improving your balance. These exercises mostly engage your legs, arms, shoulders, and back, as well as your core body.
Also, almost everyone likes to fish on a sunny day. Therefore, it helps your body by soaking up the required Vitamin D from the sun, making your immune system stronger. It also accelerates cell growth and strengthens your body in fighting flu or diseases. If you count mood booster in, that’s a bonus.
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Mental health benefits
Besides physical health benefits, fishing can also help you take your mind off trivial things and accumulated stress. It’s a well-established fact that fishing requires great patience and a focused mind, which is a lot like meditation. Therefore, it helps a great deal by improving our state of mind and even fighting anxiety and depression.
A study published has found that fishing helps lower the release of stress hormones and can have positive effects lasting up to three weeks. Another study, which was published on Research Gate, has shown that fishing can be used as a therapy to fight PTSD among war veterans. Furthermore, fishing aids in analytical and problem-solving skills as it requires constant trouble-shooting, such as finding a good spot, changing the bait, or getting the right tools. Overcoming these challenges forces your mind to think creatively and, thereby, improving your cognitive fitness and longevity.
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Digital detox
Talking about digital detox reminds me of a song that goes like, “you should look at the stars, not just screens.” Well, considering how much we spend in front of screens, it’s true that fishing gives us well-needed time off from being digital all the time. We all are victims of being constantly exposed to the world of social media and never-stopping notification buzz.
Therefore, it’s necessary to detox ourselves from digital life. And nothing promotes putting away our screens better than fishing. When we’re fishing, we tend to delve into nature surrounding us and begin to appreciate it. Also, being close to a body of water has been proven to make ourselves feel more relaxed .
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A fun, engaging activity for kids
Kids love being outdoor, running around, and playing in nature. Fishing can be a great initiative for parents to take their kids to a picnic, away from the hustle-bustle of city life. It can also be a great medium to teach kids about the importance of patience and a reward system. Teaching a new technique or helping them to reel in once they’ve caught the fish can get kids excited and help you bond with them better.
According to a peer-reviewed study published at NCBI, it has been found that being outside, especially among nature and greenery, reduces symptoms of ADHD among a diverse population of kids. Compared to activities conducted in other settings, green outdoor activities like fishing significantly reduce the symptoms.
Hence, we can say for sure that fishing offers a range of health benefits for adults as well as for kids. Additionally, it has a positive impact on our state of mind and can be a great activity for tackling anxiety and stress. As long as you can keep a safe distance from others while doing this activity, fishing is a good way to see the outside world again after being cooped up at home for months. So, are you heading out for fishing this weekend?
