How Walking Can Transform Your Mental Health
Walking may just be the most powerful tool we know of to improve mental health. That’s a big claim, but hear us out! Incorporating a 15 minute walk into your daily routine can bolster your physical health, boost and regulate your emotions, and more. Read on to learn about all the benefits walking can bring to your mind.
A 2023 study out of the University of South Australia found that just 20 minutes of exercise a day was 1.5 times more effective than antidepressant medications at reducing symptoms of mild to moderate anxiety and depression. It gets even better: this effect was seen even in brief exercise programs, so you don’t need to commit to a complete lifestyle overhaul to see the therapeutic benefits. Prescribing yourself a brisk 20 minute walk may be the best medicine we know of for anxiety and depression!
While you walk, your eyes naturally move left to right, scanning your environment and watching your path. This bilateral eye movement is very similar to EMDR (Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing) therapy - in fact, the creator of the therapy got the idea while walking in the park! Bilateral eye movements stimulate both hemispheres of the brain, which can help the brain process difficult events and emotions without being drowned in them.
Walking in nature can decrease the activity of the amygdala, a structure in our “lizard brain” or limbic system that processes fear and threats. Less amygdala activity means less fear and anxiety, and research shows that spending an hour in nature can quiet this loud and anxiety-inducing part of the brain.
Regular walking has also been shown to promote better sleep, cardiovascular health, energy, and endurance - all things that have been shown in turn to improve mental health. The mind and body are intimately connected. If the body is well rested and feels strong and healthy, the mind feels good too.
With all these benefits, it’s easy to see how incorporating a 15-20 minute daily walking routine (bonus points if it’s outside!) can improve your mental health and quality of life. What’s more, walking can be an interventional tool to help you regulate your emotions in the moment. Maybe you just received a stressful email, or are contemplating a tough decision. Walk it out! Having a tense disagreement with your partner? Walk and talk! Of course, walking cannot magically solve all problems, and it’s not a replacement for professional therapy. That being said, it’s clear that walking is an incredible (and free!) supplement to your mental health plan.
References
Berman, R. (2023, March 3). Exercise 1.5 Times More Effective than Drugs for depression, Anxiety. Www.medicalnewstoday.com. https://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/is-exercise-more-effective-than-medication-for-depression-and-anxiety
McIlwain, K. (2023, November 3). Walking and EMDR: Grounding and empowering one step at a time. KBIA; KBIA. https://www.kbia.org/2023-11-03/walking-and-emdr-grounding-and-empowering-one-step-at-a-time
Sudimac, S., Sale, V., & Kühn, S. (2022). How nature nurtures: Amygdala activity decreases as the result of a one-hour walk in nature. Molecular psychiatry, 27(11), 4446–4452. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41380-022-01720-6
