The Interleaving Trails of Lifestyle and Wilderness

Abstract

Wilderness medicine (WM) and lifestyle medicine (LM) both aim to use creative methods to promote health. The purpose of this review is to elucidate the effects of wilderness environments on health and elaborate on the intersections of WM and LM. The three theories describing potential mechanisms of health promotion in the wilderness environment—biophilia theory, stress reduction theory (SRT), and attention restoration theory (ART)—are presented. Activity in the wilderness environment is associated with improved cardiovascular fitness and cognitive performance, better sleep/wake cycles when not at altitude or extremely cold weather, better stress management, positive social interactions, and avoidance of risky substances. Wilderness is medicine and may be used as such to promote vigor and vitality in our patients.