In Praise of Walking: A New Scientific Exploration

by Shane O'Mara

According to psychologists, a natural environment should have three critical elements to be fully restorative: it should give you the sense of being removed from your normal life and surroundings; it should contain visual elements and sensory elements that are fascinating in some way; and it should be expansive – it should have some degree of extension.14 The increasing pressures of modern life tend to increase mental fatigue, but restorative experiences in nature might decrease it. This restorative effect is best mediated through a connection to natural environments because they play an essential role in normal human functioning.

An unappreciated way walking boosts mood is through the pleasure derived from resting after extended physical exertion – in a warm bath, or simply sitting in a comfortable chair.22 The great British philosopher Bertrand Russell remarked that ‘I used, when I was younger, to take my holidays walking. I would cover twenty-five miles a day, and when the evening came I had no need of anything to keep me from boredom, since the delight of sitting amply sufficed.’23 While the relationships between mood and walking are not straightforward, the emerging findings do suggest that regular walking has acute and chronic effects on mood, boosting feelings of well-being both in the moment and long-term.

The philosopher Friedrich Nietzsche went so far as to say that ‘Only thoughts reached by walking have value.’

Pilgrimages are a notable example of social walking, even when they are performed by the solitary pilgrim. They are performed in solidarity with a greater purpose – the community, a cause, a faith. They demonstrate the power of an ideal to animate a walking tribute to it.