Nearly 50 million American children headed back to their primary or high schools in late August and early September. With the beginning of a new academic year, children are faced with a whole new set of stressors, ranging from homework to social issues to the time crunch that comes with extracurricular activities. Likewise, parents are under back-to-school pressure — from bills for school supplies and school clothes, adjusting to a new schedule of drop-offs and pick-ups, and even simply making sure their kids are ready each morning.

For many, dealing with this stress is just a matter of getting through each week and trying to recover on the weekend with some well-earned RandR. Utahans, as St. George News reports, are taking a creative way to shrugging off the stress of the new year: they’re going camping.

Utah’s Wealth of State and National Parks Makes Camping a Natural Getaway

An estimated 43 million Americans go camping each year. As home to 43 state parks and five national parks, including the otherworldly Arches National Park, Utah offers no shortage of choices for parents and students looking to get away from homework, permission slips, and high school drama.

Nature’s ability to heal is well documented. Getting outside exposes our bodies to more oxygen. In turn, that oxygen pushes our bodies to produce more serotonin, a neurotransmitter that is linked to happiness and more restful sleep. Increased exposure to the sun improves Vitamin D levels in the body, another vitamin that is tied to happiness, as well as bone and tooth health. It goes without saying that being in the middle of the woods — instead of constantly being surrounded by ringing phones, assignment due dates, and grumpy teachers — is a lot less stressful. Utahans, in other words, are onto something.

Is camping one of the ways you deal with your stress? Tell us about some of the places you like to go in the comments below.