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Love walks? Taking regular walks has many physical benefits. It increases cardiovascular strength, reduces our risks for stroke and heart disease, improves certain conditions such as high blood pressure, high cholesterol, loosens stiff joints and muscles, and strengthens bones while improving balance.
Apart from these physiological advantages, there are brain-boosting benefits we can look forward to as well.
If you love walking or are looking into incorporating it into your daily regimen, learn what happens to your brain when you walk.
What Happens to Your Body When You Walk
You may be wondering: what good will walking do for my overall health? As it turns out, plenty.
Think back to a time you sustained an injury in your tendons, muscles, or bones. In one way or another, it must have hampered your ability to walk.
This is because walking requires integral components of your body to work together. We may take the process for granted because we do it so naturally and with minimal effort but it’s an intricate process that requires several parts of our body to work as one.
Walking and the Brain
Our body takes directions from our brain. Multiple brain functions work together to execute the process of walking. This means every step you take is calculated.
Every step triggers a set of information that reaches your sensory area of the cerebral neocortex through the muscles in your leg. It also triggers the mobilization of your body’s senses. How else would you explain all the road bumps and puddles you carefully maneuver around and your seemingly natural tendency to walk on roads that won’t put you in harm’s way?
Our brain is always at work. The only reason we’re not aware of this exchange is our brain works at imperceptible speeds. It’s second nature and similar to how you don’t have to regulate your breathing, your body temperature, and other minute details. Your brain does all of that for you.
Gray and White Matter
To have a deeper understanding of how our brain supports walking, it’s important to look at our central nervous system which is comprised of gray and white matter tissue in the brain.
What are gray and white matter and how do they function? Gray matter sends signals that enable sensory perceptions, emotions, speech, self-control, decision-making, and muscle control.
White matter refers to the parts of the brain and spinal cord that are responsible for communication between the various gray matter regions of the brain. It is made up of nerve fibers that keep the nerve cells connected and is wrapped by a kind of fat called myelin. Myelin allows our brain cells to quickly receive and transmit messages and gives this region its whitish color.
Simply put, gray matter is where the processing is done while white matter relays and receives electrical nerve signals.
Which does most of the heavy lifting? The grey or white matter? For years, we’ve believed in the supremacy of grey matter over white. However, it turns out that white matter has a much larger role in stimulating the brain through aerobic activities like walking.
Why White Matter Matters
As we become more physically active, the white matter in our brains works more efficiently than those who live sedentary lifestyles.
This means that a brisk walk lasting 20 to 30 minutes can potentially help us boost white matter function by prominently increasing the nerve fiber size and countering memory decline.
How Can Walking Help Stimulate Our Brains?
A good walk can do wonders for your physical and mental health. Here are a couple of ways it can help:
Strengthens Memory
Walking increases the size of the hippocampus, the small organ that plays a pivotal role in learning, forming, and storing memories. If you struggle with poor memory, walking can help improve it.
Releases Brain-Derived Neurotrophic Factor
Those with serious memory problems may be at risk for dementia and Alzheimer’s. These conditions are typically associated with a dysregulation of the brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) protein. Walking at a brisk pace can help combat the mental decline that invariably accompanies these two illnesses.
Improves Cognitive Function
Walking 20 to 30 minutes daily at least 5 times a week can help you perform better on tests, improve your creativity and productivity, and quicken your reaction time.
Reduces the Risk for Depression
A review by King’s College London found that moderate aerobic activity like brisk walking can lower your risk of developing depression while boosting brain health.
Makes You Feel Good
Walking releases endorphins, a neurotransmitter associated with boosting mental health. When you start walking more, you’ll notice that your mood improves significantly. You also become better at analyzing the things that worry you and how to overcome them.
Additionally, walking tires the body and can improve the quality of our sleep.
Increases Blood Flow in Your Brain
Blood flow is vital for your brain to function normally. Good circulation takes away toxins and brings essential nutrients to your brain.
Walking stimulates blood flow by increasing circulation in the arteries. It can also improve blood pressure.
Wrapping Up
Walking is an easy form of exercise that can be done wherever you live. If you find yourself intimidated by the thought of starting a full cardio and strength-training routine, try walking.
Just a half-hour a day five times a week will give you the benefits we mentioned above.
If you have knee pain or are worried about your joints, Is Walking Bad for Your Knees? will teach you all you need to know and show you what you can do to prevent and manage knee pain.