How camp fires improve mental health through relaxation, social connection

Lighting a campfire and watching the flames developing and sparkling can feel therapeutic – for a good reason.

Between light, heat and crackling, sitting around a campfire can be a relaxing experience – and experts agree that this can even benefit your mental health.

The research published in the Evolutionary Psychology journal noted “significant reductions” of blood pressure associated with exposure to a crackling fire.

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Camp fires or firefighters can also improve social interactions, have noted researchers.

Mr. David Rudd, Ph.D., professor of psychology and director of the Rudd Institute for Veteran and Military Suicide Prevention at the University of Memphis, agreed that the natural framework of camp fires is “probably effective” to appease the mind and engage with others.

Sitting near a fire can improve social ties, depending on research. (istock)

People sitting around a fire are “digitally disconnected” and isolated from technological distractions and the requirements of daily life, the expert noted.

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

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“We all have memories to be with a campfire and hear stories – or at least we have heard stories about what it means to be around a campfire.”

These expectations promote a “favorable and non -threatening environment where people do not feel judged or in a hurry to commit,” said Rudd.

A psychologist described camp fires as a “favorable and non -threatening environment where people do not feel judged or in a hurry to commit”. (istock)

Camp fires can encourage those who are “hesitant, anxious or little willing to commit elsewhere” to connect with others and to share personal experiences, he added.

Jessica Cail, Ph.D., assistant professor of psychology at Pepperdine University in California, underlined the association of Fire with Relaxation, comparing fires to a “social center where people meet for heat, light, food and protection”.

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Many celebrations of the holidays tend to involve fire, and some houses have chimneys intended for collection and connection, noted Cail in a separate interview with Fox News Digital.

“Being in nature implies more a gentle orientation … giving our brain a chance to rest and restore.”

“Given these positive associations, it should not be surprising that these feelings of relaxation and security can help facilitate social communication and counter negative feelings, whether explicitly shared or not,” she added.

Fire is also associated with the ritual and transition, such as the use of advent candles or therapeutic practice of writing regrettable or traumatic thoughts on paper, throwing them into a fire and looking at them, noted Cail.

Fires are “evolvingly associated” as a social center and can reduce stress, anxiety and blood pressure, has shown research. (istock)

Nature is restorative, helping to counter the many requests for modern life and the need to remain hyper concentrated on specific tasks, added the expert.

“It’s tiring for our brain,” said Cail.

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“Being in nature implies more a gentle orientation (the view of trees, the smell of grass, the sound of birds), giving our brain a chance to rest and restore.”

“This rupture against rumin on stress can be the reason why so many researchers have found that” doses of nature “were effective in reducing both depression and anxiety.”

Detachment of daily requirements and technology and immersing itself in the wild can help support mental health, say the experts. (istock)

Camp lights are often associated with leisure, which is an important component of mental health, especially for people with mental illnesses, according to Cail.

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

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“Unless your trauma has taken place in nature or around a fire, a change of environment like camping can get you out of this associative head space, giving you a new perspective,” she added.