Taking a Trip Is Good for Your Health, According to Science

Clear your schedule and pack your bags, because you’re going on a friends’ trip. Science says an occasional break is good for you. While we all love our families, it has been proven that friendship can extend life expectancy, lower chances of heart disease, and even help us better tolerate pain.

Really! Psychologists were able to predict the size of someone’s social network based on how much pain they were able to withstand. Friendships also make us feel good. In 2016, researchers found researchers found evidence that hanging out with friends can increase production of oxytocin, the feel-good cuddle hormone that our bodies make when we’re happy. Science has shown that oxytocin can make people more trusting, more generous, and friendlier, all the things you look for in friends.

Conversely, according to the clever folks at Harvard, people who don’t have strong friendships tend to be more depressed, have later-life cognitive decline, and, frighteningly enough, were more likely to die at a younger age. One study, which looked at the lives of 309,000 people, found that a lack of strong social ties increased the risk of premature death from all causes by 50%, which was about the same effect as smoking up to 15 cigarettes a day. A 2012 study found that the risk of dementia increased depending on how lonely people felt.

So, clear your schedule and start planning your weekend away—for your health. What better place to spend a weekend with friends, but then in Lake of the Woods? Along with the most popular activities to do around Lake of the Woods – fishing, boating, hunting, snowmobiling, ATVing – there’s even more outdoor activities.

Go geocaching or cross-country skiing at Zippel Bay State Park. You can relax in the sand or hunt for fossils and agates at one of our many beaches. Go blueberry picking or snowshoeing in Beltrami Island State Forest. Take a scenic drive and learn about local history while enjoying nature’s beauty.

If you want to spend some time in town, stop into town for a sweet treat and coffee before spending the day at the parks located right in town.! In the evening, after a walleye dinner, go bowling or catch a movie.

Coming in the summer? Save space in your plans for the World Ploughing Contest. The world contest will be held on August 30-31, 2019. This prestigious international competition brings together the world’s best ploughers from over 30 countries. These competitors are the best of the best with each having to win their respective countries contest to qualify for this worldwide contest. Visitors from across the world will be met with an exciting program with multiple highlights such as the stubble and grassland ploughing competitions in which the participants must prove their mastery, expertise and attention to detail.

No matter what season, there’s plenty to do on a getaway to Lake of the Woods.

Click here to learn more about lodging in Lake of the Woods.