What makes camping different from other outside activities such as a cruise or theme

park? Well, most people probably think of camping as building a tent in a rural area as a
temporary shelter, and that’s how it used to be. Over time, people started to use other temporary
shelters such as RVs or cabins in place of tents (Ackerman, 2020). However, there is a unique
factor that separates camping from other outdoor activities. Campers are able to interact with
the natural environment. On a cruise ship or theme park, people are too invested in all the
entertainment that they forget where they really are in the world. Camping allows people to stare
at the night sky or explore forests, giving time for self reflection. This brings up the question:
Does camping affect our mental state of mind? Research has shown that camping can have a
positive effect on our mental health.
To begin, camping is really attractive because of the personal satisfaction gained from it.
The need to camp is usually associated with the need to escape. Camping is a really easy way
to separate yourself from your surroundings and normal routines. Campers are essentially
“distancing themselves both physically and psychologically from urban living”. Even if it is just a
temporary home surrounded by nature, it gives people the opportunity to relax by themselves or
with friends and family. Singing campfire songs with the people you care about can be enough
to make people forget about their stressful lives. Camping can even enable “personal rewards,
including self-determination, a sense of competence, learning, exploration, rejuvenation, and
social interaction at an interpersonal level”(Ackerman, 2020). Looking closely, all these
“personal rewards” you can get from camping are all connected to the mind. These rewards can
only be achieved with a positive and passionate mindset. Seeing how camping can turn a
mindset from worried and stressed to upbeat and relaxed is what makes it very interesting.
However, a question to ask is what is exactly going through the mind while camping outside?
Studies have shown that being outdoors in the natural environment can lead to many
different mental health benefits. Attentional restoration theory (ART) was something that was
first proposed by Stephen and Rachel Kaplan in 1989. The theory involves fascination, which
means holding someone’s attention without expending much effort. Urban environments cause
hard fascination, which is when “attention is held by a high stimulating activity.” These are
usually activities such as work or school where you are completely absorbed in. On the other
hand, natural environments benefit from soft fascination, “when your attention is held by a less
active or stimulating activity.” These activities usually relax the mind and give time to reflect. A
study was conducted in 1991 by Hatrig, Mang, and Evans where they tested three different
groups: a natural environment, urban environment, and passive relaxation group. Each group
had to complete intentionally fatiguing tasks while in different environments. In the end, the
natural environment group outperformed the other groups. Another study by the same scientists
was conducted where two vacation groups and a control group were asked to perform tasks that
require a lot of attention. One of the vacation groups vacationed in an urban area while the other
vacationed in a wilderness area. These groups were tested once before and after the vacation.
The control group was tested at the start and end of the study. The results showed that the
wilderness group performed better than they did before the vacation. The other two groups
actually performed worse after the vacation (Pearson & Craig, 2014). The outdoors aspect of
camping allows for soft fascination, washing away stress and creating a relaxed mind for
campers.
 Finally, the year 2020 will forever be remembered in history. The whole year was the
opposite of normal as the entire world had to battle through unprecedented situations. Nobody
was used to staying at home all day or having restrictions when gathering outside. For people
that are used to hanging out with others all the time, this can be hard to deal with. It can cause
feelings of isolation, raising the importance of mental health, which has been overlooked by
many. It’s important that these people have some sort of way to help combat these stressful
feelings. Whenever someone’s really stressed out or angry in a movie, they usually take a few
minutes to relax or take a walk outside. Once they return, they’re a lot more relaxed and calm.
Camping can provide the same benefits. Kampgrounds of America is the world’s largest system
of private campgrounds which are spread across the US. Each year, they provide surveys
showing statistics and surveys of camping for that year. This year, they provided a special fall
2020 edition to showcase how the pandemic has affected their camping numbers. Their surveys
showed that nearly half (46%) of all campers started camping for the first time or are camping
for the first time in a while. Another survey showed that the top reason prospective campers
wanted to camp was so they could spend time outdoors after staying home so long
(Anonymous, 2020). Despite the pandemic, camping was still very interesting for people,
especially those who were new to it. It was a convenient way and social distance and provided
the opportunity to relax outside and escape the messy year of 2020.
Camping is more than just setting up a tent in the middle of the woods. Whether during a
pandemic or regular life, everyone is going to experience some sort of stress. Camping gives
both individuals and families the freedom to reflect on whatever they want. They may choose to
reflect on their lives or maybe even forget it entirely. The feelings felt when sitting next to a
campfire staring at the bright orange sunset can’t be described in words. They’re something that
only people can experience for themselves. Camping may not seem like much at first, but just
experiencing those camping feelings for the first time can be a life changer.
 Works Cited

Ackerman, C. (2020, September 11). What is Kaplan's Attention Restoration Theory (ART)?
Benefits + Criticisms.
https://positivepsychology.com/attention-restoration-theory/#:~:text=Soft%20fascination%3
A%20when%20your%20attention,introspect%20(Daniel%2C%202014).

Kampgrounds of America. (2020, October 1). The 2020 North American Camping Report Fall
2020 Update. Kampgrounds of America Inc. - KOA NACR SpecialReport FALL 2020.
http://koa.uberflip.com/i/1293697-koa-nacr-specialreport-fall-2020/1.

Pearson, D. G., & Craig, T. (2014). The great outdoors? Exploring the mental health benefits of
natural environments. Frontiers in Psychology, 5.
https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2014.01178