Biking
Mountains
Easy
When a coworker told me that her recent read made her think of my love for active outdoor vacations, I had to read it. “The Comfort Crisis” by Michael Easter was not what I expected. I expected a book that harped on the benefits of being outdoors. Easter went deeper and articulated how our human species evolved to be the most effective, creative, healthiest (physically and mentally), and happiest when we face challenges and discomforts of being immersed in raw nature – the wilder the better because of the more complex scenery, the smells, and the sounds untainted by the hum and drum of urban life.
Modern life overworks the hell out of our brains
We’ve engineered a lot of hardship out of our lives. This isn’t a bad thing – modern medicine and consistent access to calorie-dense food enables us to live to adulthood and overcome simple infections. What we don’t consider is that the “majority of us live in a greater proportion of our years in ill health.” The mounting negative effects from mental “overstimulation”, collective lack of boredom (we’re constantly filling our attention), sedentary lifestyle, and easy access to junk foods have created new medical issues of anxiety, stress, depression, and heart diseases that was mostly nonexistent until this recent century. Here’s his kicker – comforts and conveniences haven’t improved our most important metric which is happy, healthy years. It’s not to say our ancestors didn’t face stress, they had plenty from simply trying to survive. We now create our own stressors (work drama, gossip, competitive pressures, etc.) and hence deal with side effects of our comfort, which are long term physical and mental health problems.
Prescribing the stresses of nature
This wasn’t overly surprising to me as being outdoors and having a wandering mind has always refreshed me. The older I’m getting, the busier my life is becoming, and the more I’m craving to be unplugged outdoors. What was new to me was that Easter encourages facing “beneficial stress” that can only be experienced from being challenged in nature. You’ll need to read the book as he digs into many dimensions around health from these outdoor stressors – changed brain waves similar to what’s seen in meditators, plummeted stress hormones, endurance growth and muscle strengthening, and overall lower susceptibility to modern diseases. As I was reading the book, I kept reflecting about how all my challenging outdoor adventures leave me feeling more energized, centered, and mentally clear than any other types of comfort binge could provide. As you know, I'm not a spa girl - I actually love "relaxing" by doing a challenging hike!
Start small
Realistically, we’re not going to uproot out of modern society. However, even with busy jobs, families, and commitments, we can always incorporate nature into our lives if we’re intentional. Start with 20 minutes daily being outside, 3 times per week without your phone or headphones so you don’t react to notifications (dopamine hit!) and can let your mind wander. Easter references a University of Michigan study that just doing this already sees dropped levels of stress hormones (cortisol). He also mentions a “nature pyramid” where each layer recommends time and frequency to spend in nature, and you work your way up. I created one that is great for beginners. The goal isn't to reach the top as quickly as possible but to build a sustainable, lifelong relationship with the outdoors that brings you joy, health, and connection. Click here to see the full pyramid details including sample activities and tips for building your own pyramid. Feel free to share this Instagram post as well. Let me know what you think!
