How walking can make you smarter

We put one foot in front of the other without thinking, but it's worth noting the tremendous benefits walking can have on our mood, health and brainpower.

How often, in a time of stress, have you said to yourself, ‘I’m going for a walk to clear my head,’ and you’ve set off on a stroll around the neighbourhood or through a park near work and found within minutes that the issue that has been getting under your skin – a tricky professional problem or a family conflict – starts to unravel and reveal itself as something that can be resolved.

The truth is that there are biochemical reasons why walking helps you regain perspective on life.

How about when you’re walking or running and you find that, over time, your body and mind feel more at home, you seem to drop into yourself?

You get home and there’s a glow about you; you look at your family afresh and the world is just a little better than when you left. Neuroscience can explain that feeling.

These examples point towards the power of walking and running to help us learn, to alter our perception of time and space, and to heighten our capacity to problem-solve and create the stories that frame our lives.

Walking and running are infinitely more than just a means for getting from A to B.

Walking is a stimulus and a medium for our cognitive development: we grow wiser through walking, which has influenced and accelerated humanity’s creative capacity and thus our evolution.

Curious to find out more about the science behind the power of walking? Sign up for our enewsletter below to receive a free extract from Perfect Motion: How walking makes us wiser  by Jono Lineen.