Why sitting around a campfire may be the increase in health you didn’t know you needed

Illuminating a campfire and seeing how flames grow and blinking can feel -therapeutic, for good reason.

Between the sound of light, heat and crackling, being around a campfire can be a relaxing experience, and experts agree that even your mental health can even benefit.

Research published in Evolutiony Psychology magazine has noticed “significant reductions” in the blood pressure associated with exposure to a fire.

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Bonfires or fires can also improve social interactions, and researchers pointed out.

M. David Rudd, doctor, professor of psychology and director of the Rudd Institute for the Prevention of Veterans and Military Suicides at the University of Memphis, agreed that the natural environment of the bonfires is “likely” to calm the mind and participate with others.

The expert said that people sitting around a fire are “digitally disconnected” and isolated from technological distractions and the demands of daily life.

“The context is disarming and socially involved in its nature, generating implicit expectations of commitment and interaction,” Rudd told Fox News Digital in an interview.

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“We all have memories of being around a bonfire and listening to stories, or at least we have heard stories about what it means to be around a campfire.”

These expectations foster a “solidarity and non -threatening environment where people do not feel tried or pressed to participate,” said Rudd.

The bonfires can encourage those who are “hesitant, anxious or do not want to participate elsewhere” to connect with others and share personal experiences, he added.

Jessica Cail, Doctor, Deputy Professor of Psychology at Pepperdine University in California, pointed out the fire association with relaxation, comparing fires with a “social center where people join for heat, light, food and protection”.

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Many holiday celebrations usually involve fire, and some houses have fireplaces oriented to the meeting and the connection, Cail said in a separate interview with Fox News Digital.

“Being in the wild brings a gentle approach … giving our brains the opportunity to rest and restore.”

“Given these positive associations, it should not be a surprise that these feelings of relaxation and security can help facilitate social communication and counteract negative feelings, whether they are explicitly shared or not,” he added.

The fire is also associated with the ritual and the transition, such as the use of Advent candles or the therapeutic practice of writing pitiful or traumatic thoughts on paper, throwing them into a fire and seeing -burning them, Cail pointed.

Nature is restoring, helping to counteract the numerous demands of modern life and the need to keep hyperfocked in specific tasks, added the expert.

“This is tiring for our brains,” Cail said.

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“Being in the wild brings a gentle approach (the view of the trees, the smell of grass, the sound of the birds), giving our brains the ability to rest and restore.”

“This rupture of stressfulness can be that so many researchers found that” doses of nature “be effective in reducing depression and anxiety.”

According to Cail, it is often associated with the nature of leisure, which is an important component of mental health, especially for those with mental illness.

The expert emphasized that changing your environment can also “change your mind”.

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“Unless your trauma takes place in the wild or around a fire, a change in the environment as the campsite can take you out of this associative head, giving -a new perspective,” he added.