#2 PARTICIPATE IN VARIOUS WAYS OF RECREATION

In the 1950s and 1960s, activities such as horseback trail riding, skiing, snowmobiling and taking a day hike were among some of the popular choices among outdoor enthusiasts. While these are still enjoyed, people have been leaning toward less vigorous physical activities since that time, according to H. Ken Cordell of the U.S. Forest Service. Yet incorporating physical activity into your leisure and recreation activities is an ideal way to fit more exercise into your schedule -- as well as address your mental wellness.

Physical Benefits of Recreation

Taking part in recreational activities, particularly outdoors, can improve your physical wellness. In fact, people who frequently take advantage of park activities have fewer doctor visits, lower body mass indexes and lower systolic blood pressures than those who don't, according to Dr. Laura L. Payne of the University of Illinois. A 2005 California State Parks report also highlights that outdoor recreation provides an excellent opportunity to increase exercise. It cites a 2001 study revealing that the availability of recreational facilities in a location impacts the amount of physical activity in which residents participate.

Leisure Lowers Stress and Depression

Mental wellness is an important part of your overall health and can impact your physical well-being. Participating in leisure and recreation activities can help you better manage stress and reduce depression. Leisure provides you the chance to find balance in your life; it also puts you in control of how you're spending your time, which is an important consideration because you may feel overwhelmed by obligations. Taking part in leisure activities as a family is also beneficial for your kids because you're modeling healthy ways to handle stress and emotions. Participating in leisure activities regularly reduces depression; in fact, just thinking about past outdoor recreation experiences can improve mood, according to the 2005 California State Parks report.

Improve Your Quality of Life

Finding balance is also a reason why leisure and recreation can enhance your quality of life. Physical recreation, in particular, is associated with improved self-esteem. In addition, you're more likely to feel satisfied about your life when you regularly take part in recreation activities. This has significant implications for your mental health and, in turn, your physical health. In fact, 90 percent of respondents in a 2000 American Recreation Coalition study reported being satisfied with their health and fitness. In contrast, 60 percent of those who didn't take part in such activity reported not being satisfied with their health and fitness.

Recreational Therapy

All of these health benefits explain why recreational therapy can be such an essential part of a rehabilitation program. This type of therapy involves using various recreation or leisure activities to enhance or promote wellness. The American Therapeutic Recreation Association shines a spotlight on some of the benefits for the populations that commonly take advantage of the therapy including psychiatric patients, recovering addicts, children and seniors. Some of these benefits include faster healing from medical conditions, stress management, improved body function and better cognitive function.

DIFFERENT TYPES OF RECREATIONAL ACTIVITIES

Recreational, from the term recreation, it is an activity done for enjoyment when one is not working. Recreational means, relating or denoting activity done for enjoyment when one is not working. It refers to the time spent in an activity one loves to engage in, with intent to feel refreshed.

Recreational activities help you to take a break from monotony and diversion from the daily routine. It gives people the benefit of a positive change from the stereotypical lifestyle and involves an active participation in entertaining activities that one is interested in. When one does engage in recreating activities that he or she likes, it would naturally give them enjoyment. Recreational activities provides source of joy and relaxation to one’s mind and body.

Aside from giving you the enjoyment that you would want, recreational activities also gives you an opportunity for you to be able to spend time with yourself. Having the time to spend with your self can make you meet your inner self. It will give you an opportunity to know more about yourself deeper.

Also, other recreational activities can give you time to be with your family. You will bond through the activities and give yourselves plenty of opportunity to talk about personal thoughts and updates about each and everyone’s life. After all, you are a family. You must be able to know things about them and of course be close.

Recreational activities could also help you develop your leadership skills as well as interpersonal skills. As certain recreational activities need a lot of members, someone should be able to lead and guide through the course of game. And since there are a lot of members, each should be able to communicate with each other. Each should be able to share their thought on their strategies for the activities thus resulting to developing your interpersonal skill.

Recreation is of two types per type: Passive and active, indoor and outdoor, group and solo.

There are actually many different types of activities that you can choose from:

Sporting to Create
You are actually doing recreational activity through sports. Sports like basketball, volleyball, cricket, baseball, and others are good recreational activities to do. It is a recreational activity and it would also help your body as these sports are also a good way of exercising. As we all know, exercise is good for our body especially if we are stress and overworked in our daily routines.

Recreation through Adventure
If you are an adventurer, for sure this type of recreational activity is the most enjoyable one. Adventure takes form in biking, skiing, bungee jumping and others. Sure, if you are brave enough to do these things. But being on an adventure recreational activity, it would also give you an opportunity to see the beauty of nature.

Diversion through Entertainment
Who doesn’t love music? Who doesn’t love watching movies? How about singing, listening to music and dancing? These activities are also a type of recreational activities. Whatever that we like doing like a hobby or things we do for relaxation are also a form of recreational activity. As we have mentioned earlier, engaging in something that we love is surely a recreation.

Recreation for Amusement
Yes, most of us do recreational activities for our own amusement. Why not? Some of us have entertainment such as video games, computer games, internet surfing, and others. These are the usual amusement activities that we are always doing. Tourism, partying, shopping, visiting parks, museums and visiting historical places are the means of recreational activity for some.

Club to Recreate!
These are the usual recreational activities that your club, friends, company or organizations usually planned for. Usually this type of recreational activity promotes social interaction, team building or just a social gathering.

Here are some examples of recreational activities that you could do:
Outdoor Activities
Volleyball
Basketball
Baseball
River Rafting
Bungee Jumping
Hiking
Scuba Diving
Swimming
Golf
Lawn Tennis
Team Games
Nature Walk
Cycling
Surfing
Horse Riding
Boating
Traveling
Fishing
Pet Training
Beach Games
Museum Visit
Amusement Park
Photography
and others…

Indoor Activities
Music
Dance
Watching Movies
Video Games
Internet Browsing