November 17, 2017. Every Friday we find a great place for Walking & Eating. Or a great trail for hiking.
Today, I want to show you some great trails and streets – in living color and full motion. HD, too. Really moving pictures. Previews of the 30-minute videos that make 30 minutes on an exercise machine fly by in no time. These and many, many more are on my Treadmill Trails App. You can download the free app and check out all the free 30-second previews like the ones below. The full 30-minute Treadmill Trail videos are only 99 cents each.
And you don’t even need a treadmill. One TT fan wrote to boast that he was the “ultimate cheapskate”: he loves to watch his Treadmill Trails while he runs in place on a $25 step deck. Don’t just run in place. Run in great places.
Of course, another fan wrote to let me know that he watches them at his desk in the office – to relax him and to ward off boredom. Which, I guess, is a really good thing. But, c’mon, Don’t Just Sit There. Except right now: Press Play and relax with a few 30-second previews. Then get up and shake your thing.
I don’t want to jump the gun here, but for 99 cents these are a screaming good deal of a Christmas gift.
First preview: the Appalachian Trail, one of America’s three great National Scenic Trails. In Japan, where a walk in the woods is regarded as preventive medicine, they have dozens of National Therapy Trails. Walking these trails is called “forest bathing” – like taking a relaxing bath of nature. I had a pretty spectacular bath on the Appalachian Trail last week.
The Walks That Relax
Many clinical studies show that simple walks in the woods produce lower levels of the stress hormone cortisol; lower heart rates and blood pressure; and, lower nervous brain activity.
In Japan, they think of walking in the woods as preventive medicine. They actually have dozens of official Forest Therapy Trails there – and 25% of the population uses them.
In Japan, they call these nature walks “forest bathing”. Taking a relaxing bath in nature, water not included. These nature baths give the planning and problem-solving parts of your brain a rest. So you feel refreshed.
We now know that even looking at nature images in a lab reduces stress and makes you feel happier. Looking at pictures – or video – actually turns off your otherwise non-stop data processing, your e-mail checking, your looking for a parking space – all that stuff that causes mental fatigue. So a 30-minute Treadmill Trail video version of nature should leave you feeling very relaxed, refreshed and sharp.