Why You Should Sleep Outdoors

February 21, 2020

NOLS tent pitched in lush green valley in Alaska with sunset over mountains draped in clouds

NOLS Instructor and Financial Aid Counselor Cristina Edwards speaks to the benefits of sleeping outside, a tradition she can trace back to summer nights spent sleeping on the roof with her family. Today she enjoys seeing NOLS students find peace in the outdoors and notes that it’s easy to get a good night’s sleep when you’ve been active all day long.

“Christina Edwards is a part-time field instructor at the National Outdoor Leadership School (NOLS)…

Edwards sees sleeping outdoors as a return to simplicity. ‘Being so close to the earth is something that’s really powerful,’ she says. It’s also easy, she notes, to get a good night’s sleep when you’ve spent the day doing something tangible: backpacking for hours along a trail, finding a place to bed down for the night, cooking up dinner, and erecting your tent after clearing away rocks and sticks. ‘It all goes back to connecting with nature, and finding your peace anywhere,’ she says. ‘No matter what their skill level was when they started, this is something that our participants inevitably take away.’”

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Written By

Brooke Ortel

Brooke is a runner and writer who enjoys finding adventure in the everyday. True to her island roots, she loves sunshine, that salty ocean smell, and the sound of waves against the shore.