Spending on outdoor recreation accounts for 2.2 percent of the American economy at just over $400 billion a year! This seems pretty incredible to me, especially since more expensive pursuits, like domestic oil and gas extraction, technically account for less of the economy

So why is it that Americans are so willing to spend our precious paychecks to get outdoors? Why not just spent it at the gym? Or just walk outside for free?

I talked to an outdoor educator, a fellow hiker, an exercise physiologist and a burnout expert to answer the question — what can being outside really do for us?