O'Mara, Shane (2019) In Praise of Walking: The new science of how we walk

and why it’s good for us

Walking upright on two feet is a uniquely human skill. It defines us as a

species.

It enabled us to walk out of Africa and to spread as far as Alaska and Australia. It
freed our hands and freed our minds. We put one foot in front of the other without
thinking – yet how many of us know how we do that, or appreciate the advantages it
gives us? In this hymn to walking, neuroscientist Shane O’Mara invites us to marvel
at the benefits it confers on our bodies and minds, and urges us to appreciate – and
exercise – our miraculous ability.

About Shane O'Mara

Shane O'Mara is Professor of Experimental Brain Research at Trinity College Dublin,
Principal Investigator and is currently Director of the Trinity College Institute of
Neuroscience. He received his bachelor's and master's degrees from NUI Galway
and a DPhil from the University of Oxford. He is a Fellow of Trinity College, Dublin
(FTCD), and was the first Ireland-based elected Fellow of the Association for
Psychological Science (FAPS) and is an elected member of the Royal Irish Academy
(MRIA).

His research work is supported by industry, philanthropy and biomedical charities.

He was the first recipient in Ireland of a Welcome Trust Senior Investigator Award,
which are provided to "support exceptional, world-class researchers, who already
hold a recognized academic position and whose research will address the most
important questions about health and disease."

He has published more than 110 peer-reviewed papers in the areas of his research
interests, including brain systems supporting learning, memory, cognition and
decision-making; brain systems affected by stress, anxiety, depression and
motivation; and the application of brain science to business.

What’s in it for me? Find out why walking is good for you.

What defines us as humans? Our opposable thumbs? Our large brains? Our
language skills?

Those may all play a part, but there’s one more factor that’s often overlooked: our
ability to walk.

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The way humans walk – upright, on two legs – is unique to us as a species. It’s a big
part of who we are. These days, however, we seem to be walking less and less.
Instead, we use cars to shuttle ourselves around, from the bed to the office to the
sofa.

These blinks will explain why walking less is a serious mistake – one that can have
negative effects on both our physical and mental health. The book also highlight
some of the many ways you can benefit from standing up, leaving the house, and
taking a stroll.

In this book, you’ll learn

• what distinguishes humans from sea squirts;
• what makes a city walkable; and
• why walking can help you be creative.

Moving around might seem simple, but it requires brain power.

In these blinks we’re going to be talking about how humans walk. But first, let’s
consider a very different creature: the humble sea squirt.

In its early stages of development, the sea squirt darts around in rock pools in search
of food. To facilitate this movement, the young sea squirt develops one eye, a brain,
and a spinal cord.

But then, one day, the sea squirt undergoes a pretty major transition. It finds a rock,
attaches itself to it, and never moves again. Stuck in place, it then eats its brain, eye,
and spinal cord. It just doesn’t need them anymore.

Why are we telling you this? Well, the lesson the sea squirt teaches us is this: if you
don’t move around, you might as well eat your brain – literally.

The key message here is: Moving around might seem simple, but it requires brain
power.

OK, sure. But humans aren’t quite the same as sea squirts! Right? Actually, we
might be a little closer than you’d imagine.

Developmental biologists recently compared the genes of two seemingly different

species: the little skate – a type of fish – and the mouse. And it turns out they share
many genes related to movement. These shared genes determine their spinal cords,
the placement of their limbs or fins, and the nearby muscles and nerves. This
research shows that genes relating to walking stretch so far back in evolutionary
history that they mostly developed underwater.

However, although we share so much with our ancestors, human walking is unique.
Even our closest relatives, apes, generally use all four limbs. So why did we evolve
to be upright? Well, our method of walking on two legs is more efficient. We can

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cover greater distances and carry stuff as we go – whether it’s children, weapons, or
food.

Yet as efficient as it might be, walking on two legs is hard. When they’re learning,
toddlers take an average of 2,368 steps – and 17 falls – per hour. And robots
have yet to fully excel at human-style walking.

We have our brains to thank for mastering this complex task. One thing the brain is
particularly good at is staying balanced. It does this via inertial guidance, which
means it’s continuously calculating to calibrate our position. Trace the line from the
corner of your eye to your ear canal; your brain will always try to keep this line
parallel with the ground.

Not every aspect of walking is controlled by the brain, though. The spinal cord
handles the central pattern generators that control the rhythmic patterns we need for
breathing, the beating of the heart, and walking.

The spinal cord, you’ll recall, is another thing the adult sea squirt eats once it’s
secured to its rock. We humans, though, make the most of our ability to move
around. You could say walking rocks!

Scientists are slowly working out how our sense of direction works.

It’s not just the mechanics of walking that requires brain power. There’s also the
question of how we actually know where to go.

Put yourself in the author’s shoes. It’s a good few years ago, before the age of
smartphones. You have to walk from North London – Highgate, to be precise – all
the way back to your home in Streatham, which is a long way south. You don’t have
a map.

How do you do it? Well, essentially, you channel your inner homing pigeon. Dead
reckoning, otherwise known as path integration, is our innate ability to move in the
right general direction toward a destination.

But as for how that works – scientists are only just coming to grips with it.

The key message here is: Scientists are slowly working out how our sense of
direction works.

Strolling right through the heart of London, across the river Thames and down
through the south, the author managed to find his way home – even though he was
going through areas he didn’t know. He was able to do this because finding our way
around isn’t wholly dependent on visual cues.

Several studies have proven that our spatial sense is not greatly affected by our
ability to see. In tests measuring a sense of direction, blindfolded people and people
with visual impairments performed similarly to those with “normal” sight.

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The neuroscientist John O’Keefe has made some pioneering discoveries regarding
how the brain determines where we are. He discovered that when rats wander to a
place they know, particular cells around the brain’s hippocampus light up. Different
cells light up when they move somewhere else. These are known as place cells –
they tell us where we are. Humans have them too, and they work most effectively
when we walk.

Further research has revealed even more fascinating types of cells in the brain that
help us get around. Head-direction cells are essentially an inner compass, indicating
our orientation. There are also cells that respond to nearby objects. The author
himself has worked on perimeter cells, which respond to the boundaries that
surround us.

All in all, the brain more or less has its own GPS network, constantly updating itself
as we walk around.

It’s more important than ever that our cities are walkable.

Say you take a trip to Italy, and you’re sitting outside one evening. You may well see
locals taking what they call a passeggiata – a stroll through the neighborhood, where
they chat with friends and neighbors. It’s a wonderfully sociable and calm end to the
day.

Given our boxed-in, busy daily lives, it’s especially important to have a moment of
calm like that as part of your daily routine. But, unfortunately, our cities don’t make it
easy for us.

Over half the global population lives in cities and urban areas – and that will probably
rise to 80 or 90 percent by 2050. Urban planners have tended to respond to this by
prioritizing traffic flow through cities – and paying little heed to walking. This is the
opposite of what we really need.

The key message here is: It’s more important than ever that our cities are walkable.

What makes a city walkable? First off, there need to be amenities like shops and
schools within walking distance of where people live. What’s more, the quality of
walks around the city must be high – that means comfortable, safe, and interesting.
The streets should almost be like living rooms, pleasingly decorated.

And, of course, there needs to be plenty of green space – think Hyde Park in
London, Central Park in New York, or Cubbon Park in Bangalore.

Last but not least, a walkable city should factor in the aging population. Road
crossings in particular should be designed so that older people can get around with
ease.

This might all sound like a nice-to-have – rather than a true – priority. But the

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benefits of a walkable city are huge. Easy access to shops and offices leads to more
economic activity. So does the act of walking itself: some economists have shown
there’s a negative correlation between how much time you spend in a car and your
economic productivity.

With sensible city planning that factors in the benefits of walking, the passeggiata
doesn’t have to be an exclusively Italian phenomenon. The author encourages city
planners to use the acronym EASE – cities should be Easy to walk, Accessible,
Safe, and Enjoyable for everyone.

In fact, the author suggests that urban design is being done by the wrong people.
Instead of city planners and architects, he would like to see psychologists and
neuroscientists put in charge. They’re the ones who really know how to make a city
walkable.

Walking really can be the best medicine.

Think about how you feel after a long day at the office, or after being stuck at home
all day.

Most likely, you feel a little grumpy – and there’s scientific evidence to back this up.
Your personality actually changes when you don’t move around. Less physical
activity leads to lower levels of extraversion, openness, and agreeableness. So it’s
not just change – it’s change for the worse.

Precisely what is it about inactivity that causes this change? The science isn’t clear.
But the author suggests there’s one fix that’s very likely to reverse this trend with
ease. Yep, you’ve guessed it: walking.

The key message here is: Walking really can be the best medicine.

It was the ancient physician Hippocrates who said walking was the best medicine;
perhaps he’d have some stern words today for those of us who spend all day cooped
up at home or in our offices. A US study found that people spent an average of 87
percent of their time in those sorts of artificial environments.

It’s difficult to measure, but research does indicate that spending time walking,
especially outdoors, is good for feelings of well-being. According to one study, future
cases of depression could be lowered by around 12 percent if everyone spent just
one hour a week doing physical activity. Another UK study showed that visiting
natural environments, like the countryside or green spaces, really does lead to
people feeling mentally “restored.”

Walking and other types of exercise have positive effects on brain function, too. The
act of regular walking plays a part in the production of new brain cells that help with
memory and learning. Plus, there’s the effect that walking has on our muscles: a
relationship that can be summed up with the phrase “use it, or lose it.” The body
simply doesn’t bother maintaining muscles that don’t get regular use.

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Any exercise is good, then, but in terms of well-being, exercise in the open air really
does seem to be best. A study in Ottawa, Canada, asked people to walk the same
distance via two different routes. Some walked by the riverside, while the others
walked through a tunnel. After the walk, they were asked to rate their moods; those
who had walked outside scored notably higher.

So, whether you want to build new brain cells, stimulate your muscles, or just feel a
bit better, the solution is the same: go for a walk outdoors – the greener the better!

Walking boosts creativity.

In 1843, the Irish mathematician Sir William Rowan Hamilton was working in the field
of complex numbers – but he was stuck.

Fortunately, however, Hamilton had the habit of taking long, two-hour walks every
day, strolling to work in the center of Dublin. And it was on one of these walks that
inspiration struck:

i2 = j2 = k2 = ijk = –1

That was it – the breakthrough he needed. He whipped out his penknife and carved
the formula into the bridge where he was standing. It was a moment of inspiration;
the formula is still fundamental to the study of complex numbers in three-dimensional
space.

These days, mathematicians hold a “Hamilton walk” on October 16 every year to

commemorate his breakthrough.

And it’s all because of walking!

The key message here is: Walking boosts creativity.

Walking has inspired all sorts of creativity – not just mathematical breakthroughs.
“The moment my legs begin to move, my thoughts begin to flow,” said Henry David
Thoreau. William Wordsworth’s poem “Tintern Abbey” was written during a long
walk, as well. “Only thoughts reached by walking have value,” was how Friedrich
Nietzsche put it.

But why does walking have this effect? The answer, as you might have guessed, lies
in your brain.

Your brain has two modes: an active mode and a default mode. When your brain is
in active mode, it’s focusing on a task, doing stuff in detail – counting something, for
example. In default mode, your mind is free to wander, exploring and processing
memories. That’s not as frivolous as it sounds; it’s vital for keeping your brain in
order and your thinking sharp.

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Evidence suggests that creativity occurs when these two modes of thinking occur
simultaneously. And walking is a great way to encourage the brain to do exactly that.
Walking – or more specifically, spatial navigation – stimulates the part of the brain
around the hippocampus, which is also the part of the brain that’s active in memory.

Walking might not help with uncreative problems like mathematical calculations. But
for creative problem-solving, like coming up with a novel mathematical formula,
walking can help greatly. The author calls it active idleness – letting your mind
wander freely, yet still retaining a sense of focus.

You’ve probably heard people say you should “sleep on” a difficult question – but
why not also try “walking on” it? Next time you have a challenging problem to solve
at work, give it a go.

At its heart, walking is social.

Not all walking is a solitary activity in which your mind can wander. In fact, walking is
deeply, fundamentally social. Mark Twain knew it. “The supreme pleasure” of
walking, he wrote, “comes from the talk.”

There’s science to back this up, too. One study found that elderly people who walked
for around 150 minutes each week were more socially active; they also had higher
levels of well-being compared to elderly people who walked less. Walking is also a
crucial step in young children’s social development – once they can walk, they both
play and vocalize a lot more.

The key message here is: At its heart, walking is social.

Even some solo walks have a social aspect. Think of pilgrimages. People may
undertake them alone, but there’s still a deeper sense of solidarity there. They unite
the walker with others who share the same faith or cause. Even a solo city walk, in
fact, is defined by the people and crowds you encounter along the way.

But walking together with others is perhaps especially important, and also
scientifically interesting. Have you ever noticed how you and your fellow walkers
tend to synchronize your steps? This is totally normal in group walking – yet it’s
based on a highly complex brain process that involves predicting what the rest of
your group is going to do next. This is something else that robots still can’t do.

Being in a large group has even been shown to cause a psychological high –
marching in a protest or attending a concert has a positive mental effect, at least in
the short term.

So, to reiterate, it’s high time we start valuing our ability to walk! This applies to all of
us individually – we must make sure to get out of the house or office and stimulate
our muscles and brains to reap the mental and physical benefits. But it also applies
to government policymakers and town planners, as well as people working in health
care. People should be encouraged to walk at every turn, the author argues.

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Our cities should also reflect this, rather than holding walkers back as they so often
do. Spaces should be green, and roads should be pedestrian-friendly. Walking is a
central part of what makes us human. And, as we’ve seen, it’s good for us – in more
ways than we could have imagined.

Final summary

The key message in these blinks:

Walking is excellent for us in all kinds of different ways, providing benefits to both our
bodies and our brains. The complex science behind how humans walk reveals a
process that boosts our mood, creativity, and sociability. All of us – including city
planners – should pay more attention to the benefits of a good walk.

Actionable advice:

Take a walk to solve a problem.

Whether it’s a difficult client at work, a friend in need of advice, or a personal issue of
your own – we all face problems we don’t know how to solve, all the time. But
sometimes, focusing too hard on a problem can make it even harder to untangle. So
next time you need to come up with a creative solution, take a break, go for a walk,
and let your mind wander. You might be amazed at the solutions you come up with!

What to read next: What I Talk About When I Talk About Running, by Haruki
Murakami

In Praise of Walking explains the many benefits of a gentle stroll through a city or the
countryside. But many of the benefits of walking can also be gained if you up the
tempo a little bit.

Author Haruki Murakami, famously known for his fantastical novels, is also a keen
runner. In the blinks to What I Talk About When I Talk About Running, you’ll find out
what it is about running that fascinates him – and why he finds such satisfaction in it.