Walking has been offering innumerable mental and physical health benefits for thousands of years of human history, as Lao Tzu’s quote from 600 BC shows.
Today, it’s the most scientifically studied form of exercise. Walking is as natural as eating, breathing, or talking — our very physiology is specially designed for it. Unlike most (non-hooved) mammals, our entire foot makes contact with the ground when we walk, starting with the heel, then rolling to the ball of the foot. This helps spread out the impact and pressure of walking, enabling us to continue for long distances. Most other mammals’ feet have evolved to running quickly and effectively. Their heels are weak, but they bounce along on the balls of the feet or their toes, but only for relatively short distances.
Here are just a few of the numerous benefits of walking:
1. Walking can help you live longer. Studies from the University of Michigan, among many others, have shown that adults 50 and above who go for regular walks of a mile or more have a 35% lower mortality rate over an 8-year period.
2. Walking increases blood circulation to your brain. As a result, more nutrients are brought to your brain, and toxins are flushed away more quickly.
3. Walking gets those thoughts flowing. Walking has long been documented to improve cognitive function and creativity. Harvard Health reported that just around half an hour of walking per day can improve overall cognitive well-being. The philosopher Nietzsche once remarked, “All truly great thoughts are conceived while walking.”
4. Walking improves mood. Walking, like any aerobic exercise, stimulates the production of endorphins, which help relieve pain and tame anxiety. And beyond brain chemistry, walking makes you feel connected to the environment and the people (or animals) you may walk with, helping with a sense of general well-being.
5. Walking reduces joint pain. Many people who suffer from arthritis, osteoporosis, and other joint conditions, try to walk as little as possible, because of the pain and the fear of damaging the joints further. Studies have shown, however, particularly a recent study from the Arthritis Foundation, that walking can actually counteract symptoms of arthritis by building up the muscles around the joint to provide stability. Walking is also important to the health of the cartilage in the joint. Cartilage doesn’t have its own blood supply, so it relies on fluid in the joint to get nutrients and keep healthy. Walking or otherwise mobilizing the joint helps the fluid flow into the joint, slowing the degradation of cartilage that worsens arthritis.
6. The list goes on and on. Walking has been shown to decrease sugar cravings, manage high blood pressure, lose weight, help you meditate, improve asthma and other respiratory conditions, and much more.
As the Danish philosopher Soren Kierkegaard once said: “Above all, do not lose your desire to walk. Every day I walk myself into a state of well-being and walk away from every illness. I have walked myself into my best thoughts, and I know of no thought so burdensome that one cannot walk away from it.”
Clara E.
Originally from upstate New York, Clara moved to Brooklyn in the spring of 2017 to finish her undergraduate degree and pursue her passions for architectural restoration, music composition, and visual art. She works as a receptionist at Element. In her free time, Clara likes to explore new neighborhoods, go to museums, and play the piano.