Author Topic: Walking helps us be more open, more extroverted, and less neurotic  (Read 3236 times)

GnP

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1. Walking makes the brain more resilient   
2. Walking keeps our heart healthy
3. Walking aids digestion
4. Walking helps us to problem-solve
5. Walking can help to prevent depression
6. Walking helps us be more open, more extroverted, and less neurotic
7. Walking is better for our metabolism than going to the gym
8. Walking can improve our posture
I love coming across articles like this. :) :)

 https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/articles/51SPhn5FKSYRnQNswfnWsN2/8-reasons-why-we-should-all-walk-more
A night under silnylon. Doesn't have the same ring to it.

ninthace

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I would take issue with the BBC's first conclusion.  Improving the vasculature of the brain does not make us brainier.  If that was so, some of us would be so smart we couldn't stand it.
Solvitur Ambulando

Islandplodder

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Why would wandering the hills on your own make you more extrovert? And why would you want it too.  I thought the whole point of heading out into the wilds was that you didn't have to be extrovert!

Dovegirl

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Why would wandering the hills on your own make you more extrovert? And why would you want it too.  I thought the whole point of heading out into the wilds was that you didn't have to be extrovert!

+ 1   

Solitude is one of the things I love about walking in the countryside    :)

Dovegirl

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5. Walking can help to prevent depression

I've found that walking can help alleviate depression and can create a feeling of freedom and well-being

jimbob

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Number 2 is the reason I got back into walking. As part of my cardiac rehab I was advised to walk 4 miles per day, and I try to do just that, at least in one go daily.  It certainly helps with the longer distances I regularly attempt.
Too little, too late, too bad......

tonyk

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All you need to do is ask yourself if you feel better after a walk? If the answer is "yes" it has obviously done some good.

jimbob

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But you should never underestimate the inventiveness of a reporter with a liking for PowerPoint.
Too little, too late, too bad......

GnP

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Anything over 5 mile and my spirits are certainly lifted for a couple of days. I love those endorphins.

In regards to wanting to be alone in the countryside. I usually do, but it is nice to bump into another walker (s) when you least expect it and exchange a few words. There was a thread recently about walking boredom. Fortunately that doesn`t happen too much to me, although towards the end of a walk, I get to yearning for home and a cup of tea sooner than I used to when I was younger.
              At those times it`s lovely to have even a quick hello with like minded people. Although I much prefer coming across a stag, badger, muntjac or other wildlife, before returning to my car.
A night under silnylon. Doesn't have the same ring to it.

WhitstableDave

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Thanks for that GandP.  O0

I guess the podcast is to promote Shane O'Mara's book 'In Praise of Walking (the new science of how we walk and why it's good for us)', which I was given for Christmas by one of my daughters.  :)

I rarely read non-fiction, but I was immediately hooked not only by what the author says, but by his style, which is both academic and very accessible. I'm about a third of the way through and I'm finding it fascinating, educational and motivating. Well worth checking out... in my humble opinion!
Walk, Jog, Run : our YouTube video channel.

GnP

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Thanks for that GandP.  O0

I guess the podcast is to promote Shane O'Mara's book 'In Praise of Walking (the new science of how we walk and why it's good for us)', which I was given for Christmas by one of my daughters.  :)

Oh that`s interesting. I am going to look that book up.
A night under silnylon. Doesn't have the same ring to it.

WILDWALKINGUK

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I totally agree.
Last year I was pretty miserable, 50 and having a midlife crises when I set off in February, on my own, walking from Lands End to John O'Groats via Snowdon, Scafell Pike and Ben Nevis, I had spent about a month planning it and had no fixed route plan or time scale. I loved it, it has changed my life. I met so many interesting people and remember so many great conversations. The freedom was eye opening.

gunwharfman

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I think the list is OK in principle but if pushed I could take issue with one or two of them. As NinthAce points out No 1 is a bit woolly. No 4 though is certainly me. When I'm alone and walking I do use some of my time to problem solve, especially trying to sort out in my head when if I'm being objective or subjective about a matter. In my line of work being subjective is often not helpful at all. Being able to 'stand back' and then evaluate and decide the way forward is more of an asset in my experience. I'm not so sure about the 'depression' one either, the word is so overused these days and it's used seemingly to cover all negative feelings that one might have. For example, I do not suffer from 'depression' as I try to understand the word, but from time to time I have experienced bouts of sadness, for example when my mother died and when my brother died. To me depression and sadness are not one and the same thing.

I don't know if walking has made me more 'extrovert' or 'less neurotic?' I don't think it has but I would like to think it has made me more confident and has helped me to make better decisions? It's very difficult to judge accurately?

GnP

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Quote :One such rhythm, he says, is that of theta brainwaves. Theta is a pulse or frequency (seven to eight hertz, to be precise) which, says O’Mara, “you can detect all over the brain during the course of movement, and it has all sorts of wonderful effects in terms of assisting learning and memory, and those kinds of things”. Theta cranks up when we move around because it is needed for spatial learning, and O’Mara suspects that walking is the best movement for such learning. “The timescales that walking affords us are the ones we evolved with,” he writes, “and in which information pickup from the environment most easily occurs.”





https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2019/jul/28/its-a-superpower-how-walking-makes-us-healthier-happier-and-brainier
A night under silnylon. Doesn't have the same ring to it.

gunwharfman

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Sounds good, but what does it mean?   :-\ 

 

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