The Mental Health Benefits of Walking

The Mental Health Benefits of Walking – If you are able to, walking is the most simple and accessible form of exercise and research has demonstrated that walking has a positive impact on mental health. Exercise, including walking, releases endorphins, reduces stress hormones like cortisol and promotes overall brain health.

Walking aids:

• Stress reduction – the rhythmic movement of walking, potentially being in nature and the fresh air, is a natural stress reliver, it can help you unwind, clear your mind and gain perspective. According to the Mental Health Foundation: “Even a short burst of 10 minutes of brisk walking increases our mental alertness, energy and positive mood.”
• Mood – physical activity stimulates serotonin and dopamine in the brain which are associated with feelings of well-being and happiness.
• Mental Clarity – Research demonstrates that walking can aid cognitive function and mental clarity.
• Social interaction – Walking increases the opportunity of social interaction and making connections with people. These connections may be casual, the dog walker who you see every morning you go out for a walk or deeper, if you walk with friends or family or a group. Walking help reduce feelings of loneliness.

Walking tips:

If walking is something you don’t do as part of your routine these are some tips that might help you:

• Start with a walking routine – decide to make walking a part of your daily life and plan into your day when you will go for a walk.
• Invest in comfortable footwear.
• Think about your route – look at maps and consider where you want to walk. Are there parks or woodland near you, are you able to vary your route so that you have variety.
• Think about safety – tell someone where you are walking, think about the time of day you are walking, take a phone or alarm.
• When you are walking consider varying your pace, or incorporating mindfulness techniques for instance paying attention to your surroundings.

There are other blogs on this website that could help you with your walking routine listed below

Walking for Mental Health

 Exercise & Mental Health – Developing a Practice.

If you struggle with walking outside or its just terrible weather and you still want to walk, or you just simply don’t want to go outside consider doing an indoor walk There are lots of indoor walks on YouTube you can do. Lucy Wydham Reed has a few indoor walks that I have found helpful. 

There are a myriad of benefits of walking for mental health whether your walk is short or long, inside or outside walking is a simple and effective way to support your mental and physical health.

Paul offers Psychotherapy and counselling, EMDR and Clinical Supervision. If you are struggling with any issue and would like to make an appointment with Paul please call Paul on 07843 813 537 or fill in the form on the Contact Page, if he doesn’t answer he is probably in a session, please leave him a message and he will call you back as soon as he can. For more information about Paul please take a look at the About Paul Page, Frequently Asked Questions Page and The Counselling Services Page.