THE PARTNERS
Walking is good
for your brain
In association with our partner Zorg van de Zaak
Walking is good
for your brain
In association with our partner Zorg van de Zaak
Walking every day is healthy. It lowers your blood pressure and cholesterol, and it gets your heart and blood vessels in better shape. Walking a lot also increases your lungs’ capacity to take up oxygen. But it also increases your mental resilience. Enjoying the outside air and nature furthermore relaxes you and clears your head. How exactly does all of this work?
Many people suffer mental problems or burn-out symptoms due to excessive pressure (at work) and sensory overload. Nowadays, we are on 24/7. We’ve got phone calls, text messages, and emails coming in all the time. Processing all of that requires a lot of brainpower and affects our stress levels. Going for walk is a way to allow your brain to recover. Especially when you add a brisk pace to your walk, thoughts make way for emptiness and rest.
Ulrika Léons, psychologist at Skils, explains how it works: ‘If you want to clear your head, it is important that you take in your surroundings. It is basically about switching to stimuli other than the ones you get at work, during your studies, or when caring for someone. What comes in? What does the movement do to you?’ Being mindful of that is a way to clear your head and focus better at work or in other activities.
On top of that, a brisk walk will make your cortisol levels drop. Cortisol is a stress hormone. Lowering cortisol levels will ease the sensation of stress. If you exercise regularly, you will notice that your body is trained and needs less effort. You will then be less likely to get stressed in tense situations and become resilient in your stress system. This is how walking reduces the chance of all the sensory stimuli wearing you down.
One final tip: set your phone to ‘do not disturb’ when going for a walk and listening to your surroundings. We bet that will clear your head right up.