It’s hard not to feel discouraged by the tumultuous winter weather of the North Country when we are receiving winter storm warnings and winter weather advisories nearly every day. But it is also important to keep in mind that using this weather to our advantage can help alleviate negative mental health symptoms that arise during these long winter months. For people of the North Country, skiing is an adaptive behavior. Skiing is a staple of our campus culture. So much so that we even declared Titus and Rail Jam campus-wide holidays. While skiing brings people together, especially our campus, and yields social oriented benefits, it also has numerous physical, mental, and emotional benefits. These benefits have been scientifically researched, and, to put it succinctly, according to a 2006 Journal of Clinical Psychiatry study, “exercise improves mental health by reducing anxiety, depression, negative moods and by improving self-esteem and cognitive function.” For these reasons, it is important to engage in such activities in order to counteract negative feelings that arise during the winter months.
To put it simply, skiing makes us feel happy. When skiing down the slopes, chemical reactions occur within our bodies to produce positive feelings. Specifically, it lowers levels of stress hormones and releases your body’s natural painkillers. Not only do we soak in vitamin D, but we also produce endorphins and adrenaline. It is simply a liberating experience for your mind but also body. Skiing is also a great source of exercise and exercise that you can actually enjoy doing. Within just three hours of skiing, your body can burn up to 975 calories. While this is happening, metabolic and cardiorespiratory health also improves.
While on the surface skiing is a high activity sport, it’s also peaceful and often stress and anxiety reducing. Nature has long been proven to have many mental health benefits due to its calming and meditative effects. While skiing, you immerse yourself in the silent winter landscape which can help lessen these negative mental health symptoms. It is not just this landscape that palliates these negative valance emotions and provides a meditative experience, but also the movements of skiing. Skiing is a proprioceptive sport, which means that while skiing, you are completely aware of the position of every body part and the strength of your muscles working to produce movement. Therefore, this activity has some commonalities with the process of mindfulness and meditation.
While skiing can be an individual activity, it also has the power to bring people together. It has been the source of camaraderie for our campus for years. This kind of socialization can lighten your mood and make you feel much happier, especially when you have something to look forward to on the weekends. During these long winter months, this is especially valuable.