Walking is our natural way of moving around, but it does not serve that purpose alone. Walking is also a form of physical exercise, and an extremely simple exercise to do. Even more interestingly, walking is actually a great way to get many improvements in our body and mind.
Many can easily attest to a sense of refreshment and alertness felt immediately after a session of walking, especially when done in a natural environment. Apart from being a physical routine beneficial to bodily health, walking also performs wonders on the mind.
Indeed, some people go on walks simply to think, strategize, and clear their heads, and they routinely achieve that objective almost every time!
Although for many of us, our reason for taking a leisurely stroll is not to improve anything in our body or mind, yet despite this, we are not even doing enough.
According to the World Health Organization, 80% of the global adolescent population, and around 23% of people aged 18 and above globally do not engage in sufficient physical activity.[1] In fact, according to them, the lack of physical activity is among the leading risk factors for global mortality.
The mortality aspect of that report should not be surprising, since the act of walking actually has more impact on our body than we ever think. Whenever we take a step, we are actually invoking a perfect and harmonious coordination of our muscles, joints, bones, and nerves. In fact, according to Brain World Magazine, a single step requires the movement of over 200 bones and 600 muscles in the human body![2] The brain-body connection needed to achieve this is not a small feat!
Many studies have documented these benefits in various ways, but as our topic suggests, we are most interested in the benefits walking can offer to brain health. We will be examining a number of them in this article.
But before we go into that, experts have recommended that before walking can have any significant positive impact on brain health, some threshold would have to be reached. A common advice is to walk at least 20-30 minutes everyday or to dedicate at least 150 minutes to walking per week. For children, the recommendation is often 60 minutes or more time spent walking per day.[3]
Walking might just be the perfect brain tonic for all people of all ages if only they know – it has amazing benefits in improving self-esteem and decreasing negative thoughts.[4]
Incredibly, psychologists often mention its positive impact on patients with mental illness too. Among most mental illnesses, walking have been severally reported as helping depressive patients in improving their symptoms.
We can even start enumerating the numerous benefits of walking on mental health by starting with its impact on depression before we proceed to others. So, let’s start!
Walking and Depression
Walking has been proven to help cut the risk of developing depression and even in helping reduce depressive symptoms in active patients.
From a King’s College, London, review of 49 studies, it was found that 20 minutes every day of brisk walking could cut the risk of developing depression by a third.[5]
Like we have also mentioned in our former article on exercise and brain health, a simple physical exercise like walking can enhance treatments for clinical depression.[6]
How the Impact of the Feet on the Ground (While Walking), Affects the Brain Health
In a twist that probably nobody expected, the impact of the feet on the ground as we walk is getting its own attention in relation to brain health.
Researchers at New Mexico Highlands University found that the impact of our feet on the ground as we walk causes waves of pressure in our arteries that sends more blood to the brain.[7] By contrast, this effect was not observed while standing still.
This supply of blood to the brain was initially thought to be solely regulated by the body, but this research have revealed that the blood flow to the brain can significantly be increased too by walking.
This research may have probably answered the question of why some people think better and find solutions to problems better when they are walking.
Walking and Cognitive Function
Researchers have associated increased cognition and lower chances of dementia with walking and other physical exercises. This has been especially well studied in older adults.[8] But it is also true in young adults too.[9]
In fact, just 20 to 30 minutes of daily exercises (walking for example) can improve overall cognitive function, according to several studies reported by Harvard.[10]
We have written a bit more extensively on the link between physical exercises and cognitive functions in this former article.
Walking Can Stimulate an Endorphin Rush
Everybody likes to feel fine and happy: a feeling of well-being. Many choose to achieve this by means that can destroy their health, for example by consuming alcohol or smoking.
But these means are not necessary.
Studies have found that walking can stimulate the release of endorphins in the brain. Endorphin is a neurotransmitter that can boost mental health, lessen sensitivity to stress and pain (painkiller effect) and can make us feel euphoric.[11]
It’s a feel-good neurochemical!
And you can obtain these effects just by taking a walk. This has some indirect advantages on mental health:
Firstly, it can indirectly help self-esteem and pull you out of a mild depression.
Secondly, a rush of endorphin, similar to dopamine, brings pleasurable sensations to the senses, which makes us want to try the activities that bring on that stimulation again.
This is good for the health. If walking, by stimulating the release of endorphins, serve to encourage us to try it again (and perhaps other physical exercises), then it’s a win-win situation for the body and brain.
Walking Enhance Creativity
Creativity has been defined as the ability to create or invent something. Without doubt, creativity is the prerogative of the brain.
What might be unbelievable is that the simple act of walking can enhance creativity. But it does. Even before studies came to prove it more empirically, many past artists and thinkers have attributed some of their creative eureka moments to when they are walking.
While the process of how walking can translate to enhanced creativity is not yet fully known, enough is known to safely describe walking as a source of perpetual positive stimulation for the brain.
Like described in some of the points above, walking can stimulate an endorphin rush and even send more blood to the brain. These are all positive pokes on the brain that can encourage immediate smoother brain functioning.
In a 2014 study from Stanford University, subjects who took a walk outside or in an indoor treadmill were found to come up with more creative use for ordinary objects than subjects who are sedentary. The study noted that walking increase creative outputs in subjects by an average of 60%.[12]
Walking Create Connections Between Brain Cells
In a 2010 study, older adults were tested with some forms of exercises, which includes walking, it was found that one year of walking increased connectivity between brain networks concerned with brain dysfunction in aging.[13]
This study suggests walking can cut the risk of age-related cognitive decline in older adults.
Walking and the Memory
In a study from UCLA conducted among older adults, it was found that adults who walked more than 4000 steps a day performed better on tests centered around information, processing, and strategic planning than non-walkers.[14]
Walking and Oxygenated Blood Flow to the Brain
Oxygen is significantly responsible for keeping our cells alive, and this include the cells of the brain. Depriving brain cells of adequate oxygen is like stifling them to death.
One way of making sure we are giving our brain the needed fresh oxygen boost is to avoid a sedentary lifestyle and take on an active lifestyle. Simply walking more can do the trick.
Whenever we are engaged in physical activities like walking, our heart rate increases and this causes us to breathe deeper. The deep breaths bring more oxygen to the bloodstream, and since the heart is already pumping faster, blood circulation increases and more oxygen thereby gets into the brain.
This is not just a good process for brain health, but it is also necessary – Normally, our brain uses about 20% of the total oxygen supply for our body19. So the easier the brain gets the necessary amount of oxygen for its proper functioning, the better it is for our mental clarity. A lack of adequate oxygen can cause brain cell death.
Walking and Its Effect on Mental and Physical Fatigue
It might sound extremely paradoxical, but walking can actually help to relieve physical and mental fatigue. Discovered through several studies, this connection is actually no more strange to researchers. Let some of the research work on this speak for themselves:
1. A 2008 study from the University of Georgia discovered that 20 minutes of a light exercise like walking can greatly bring down the level of fatigue.[15]
2. A study from Australia involving office workers found that office workers who take a walk at 30 minutes intervals feel less tired at the end of the day.[16]
3. In an interesting study involving over 1 million participants data, it was found that walking, among various other exercises, produces fewer days of poor mental health (vibrancy).[17]
Walking Boost Your Mood
For a moment, let’s forget we are using our feet to walk and concentrate on our other body part. We will notice that whenever we walk, we observe things with our eyes, smell the air and environment, listen to various sounds floating around and often have one or two matters playing in our minds. All these shows that our feet only serve to carry us, the movement itself does a lot to change our current perception and mood. This is why it is essential to walk in serene environments as much as possible.
Walking can be an excellent mood changer. It can even be used to defuse anger by walking away from the source provoking the anger.
If walking is channeled in the right direction (literally), it can be an extremely cheap way of obtaining happiness and inner peace. Any intractable problem bothering your mind, just walk away from it for a while!
Indeed, academic studies have proven the mood-uplifting attributes of going for a walk. In one study, researchers conducted experiments on college students to see if some period spent walking can initiate a positive mood boost in the students, it proved positive! According to the research, just 12 minutes spent walking lead to an increase in the students mood levels, and can even override negative mood conditions such as boredom and dread.[18]
We Have a Conclusion
While all what we have revealed so far outline a substantial part of the current knowledge on the positive benefits walking can have on mental health, we are confident science will only reveal more with time.
Physical exercises have long been known to have positive benefits on bodily and mental health, but the ease walking offers as a form of physical exercise can not be denied.
If you are looking to start any form of physical exercise routine, it might be good to start with the simplest of all – just walking more, and from there proceed to more rigorous forms of exercise.
However, note that walking (or any form of physical exercise) alone may not be expected to give you an improved mental health. Exercise must be done in conjunction with other lifestyle changes for any significant positive result to be seen on mental health.
To know whether there is something you are doing right or wrong in your lifestyle that may jeopardize your mental health, please read our article on brain health checklist here.
Caution
For most healthy people, walking short or long distances should be completely harmless if precautions are taken and risky behaviors are avoided.
But if you have an underlying health condition (either serious or mild), it is extremely important you consult your doctor before you take up any exercise routine, including walking.
But if you are in sufficient health to take up walking as a form of exercise, please keep to all safety precautions and obey extant rules and laws of your jurisdiction regarding outdoor exercises before you initiate walking as an exercise routine.
Don’t also neglect to wear the correct gear and avoid risky behavior when participating in any outdoor physical activity. This includes simple physical activity like walking.
And lastly, if you are planning to engage in a walk within a natural environment setting, keep yourself away from the harm of insect bites and animal attacks.
Disclaimer: This article and the recommendation therein should not be used as a substitute for advice from a qualified doctor or clinician.
Frequently Asked Questions on Walking to Improve Mental Health
Does Walking Help the Memory?
Yes, many research works have suggested this. In research works investigating the link between physical exercises and improved memory, there is sufficient evidence to suggest that people who exercise gains improvement in their episodic memory. Exercise have also been found to benefit cognition and memory in more elderly individuals.
How Does Walking Helps My Mental Health?
Walking can helps the mental health in various ways. For example, there are evidences walking can help depressive patients, helps creativity and it can boost the mood.
How Much Should I Walk to Improve My Brain Health?
Experts have recommended that before walking can have any significant positive impact on brain health, some threshold would have to be reached. A piece of common advice is to walk at least 20-30 minutes every day or to dedicate at least 150 minutes to walking per week. For children, the recommendation is often 60 minutes or more time spent walking per day.
However, please consult your doctor before you start any exercise program if you have an underlying health condition.
References:
1. Physical activity – https://www.who.int/news-room/fact-sheets/detail/physical-activity (Retrieved 23-7-2020)
2. Walking is Brain Exercise – https://brainworldmagazine.com/walking-is-brain-exercise/ (Retrieved 23-7-2020)
3. New physical activity guidelines – GOV.UK – https://www.gov.uk/government/news/new-physical-activity-guidelines (Retrieved 23-7-2020)
4. Does Walking Help with Mental Health Problems? – https://www.news-medical.net/health/Does-Walking-Aid-Mental-Health-Problems.aspx (Retrieved 23-7-2020)
5. Physical Activity and Incident Depression: A Meta-Analysis of Prospective Cohort Studies – PubMed – https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/29690792/ (Retrieved 23-7-2020)
6. Exercise Interventions for Mental Health: A Quantitative and Qualitative Review – Stathopoulou – 2006 – Clinical Psychology – https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1111/j.1468-2850.2006.00021.x (Retrieved 23-7-2020)
7. How walking benefits the brain… – https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2017/04/170424141340.htm (Retrieved 23-7-2020)
8. Physical activity and cognition in the elderly: A review – https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5618974/ (Retrieved 23-7-2020)
9. General physical activity levels influence positive and negative priming effects in young adults – https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/19136295/ (Retrieved 23-7-2020)
10. Need a quick brain boost? Take a walk – Harvard Health – https://www.health.harvard.edu/mind-and-mood/need-a-quick-brain-boost-take-a-walk (Retrieved 23-7-2020)
11. Endorphins: Functions, Levels, and Natural Boosts – https://www.healthline.com/health/endorphins
(Retrieved 23-7-2020)
12. Give your ideas some legs: the positive effect of walking on creative thinking – https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/24749966/ (Retrieved 23-7-2020)
13. Plasticity of brain networks in a randomized intervention trial of exercise training in older adults – https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/20890449/ (Retrieved 23-7-2020)
14. Physical Activity and Hippocampal Sub-Region Structure in Older Adults with Memory Complaints – IOS Press – https://content.iospress.com/articles/journal-of-alzheimers-disease/jad170586 (Retrieved 24-7-2020)
15. A randomized controlled trial of the effect of aerobic exercise training on feelings of energy and fatigue in sedentary young – https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/18277063/ (Retrieved 24-7-2020)
16. Acute effects of breaking up prolonged sitting on fatigue and cognition: a pilot study – https://bmjopen.bmj.com/content/6/2/e009630.full#abstract-1 (Retrieved 24-7-2020)
17. Association between physical exercise and mental health in 1·2 million individuals in the USA between 2011 and 2015: a cross-sectional study – https://www.thelancet.com/journals/lanpsy/article/PIIS2215-0366(18)30227-X/fulltext (Retrieved 24-7-2020)
18. Walking facilitates positive affect (even when expecting the opposite) – https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/27100368/ (Retrieved 24-7-2020)
19. MRI estimation of global brain oxygen consumption rate – https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2949253/#bib26 (Retrieved 17-8-2020)
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