Aristotle was onto something.
Exercise your brain by exercising your body at the same time.
Basically, walking and talking. Sounds pretty pedestrian, right? But this was the genesis of the Peripatetic school of philosophy.
For those etymologically and historically curious, peripatetic comes from peripatos (sing.), or peripatoi (pl.) – the walkways around the Lyceum in Athens where Aristotle would stroll while lecturing. It came to mean “of walking” or “given to walking about.”
Health Benefit Basics
The science has been in for a while concerning the healthy benefits of walking for the body, mind, and spirit. So we’ll just run down some of the top areas for a quick refresh.
(Feel free to jump ahead if you like. Won’t hurt my feelings!)
Cardiovascular Health: Walking improves circulation, lowers blood pressure, and reduces the risk of heart disease, promoting overall cardiovascular well-being.
Weight Management: A consistent walking routine helps burn calories, supports metabolism, and aids in weight maintenance or loss.
Mental Clarity and Focus: Walking enhances cognitive function, boosts creativity, and improves concentration, leading to better mental clarity.
Stress Reduction: Walking releases endorphins, reducing stress hormones and promoting a sense of calm and relaxation.
Joint Flexibility: Low-impact walking improves joint flexibility, mitigates stiffness, and contributes to better joint health.
Improved Mood: Walking stimulates the release of serotonin and endorphins, fostering an uplifted and positive mood.
Enhanced Sleep Quality: Regular walking contributes to better sleep patterns, promoting restful and rejuvenating sleep.
Boosted Immune System: Moderate exercise, like walking, enhances the immune system’s ability to defend against illnesses and infections.
Increased Energy Levels: Walking increases blood flow and oxygen supply, providing a natural energy boost for both body and mind.
Connection with Nature: Walking outdoors fosters a connection with nature, promoting mental well-being and reducing feelings of stress or fatigue.
Spiritual Renewal: Walking, especially in serene environments, can provide a meditative experience, fostering spiritual renewal and a sense of inner peace.
Incorporating regular walking into your routine can bring about a holistic improvement in physical health, mental well-being, and spiritual connectedness.
Exercise Your Brain
Let’s call this peripatetic learning. Or not.
You don’t have to call it anything. I just have this compulsion to name and categorize ideas and practices.
At first, I wasn’t sure how to get started with incorporating a new exercise habit into my daily routine. I find exercise for its own sake friggin’ boring as hell.
My solution was to repurpose some of the time I already spend at work. Namely my lunch hour.
I decided to peel 30 minutes off lunch and spend it taking a walk around the campus where I work.
I do this in the morning, usually around 7 a.m., as I live in Texas. Because, hey, we’re known as a 4-season state: 1st Summer, 2nd Summer, 3rd Summer, and Polar-Vortex-Ice-Storm-Disaster February. Some years we get a bonus 2 days in April when we can open the windows.
When I started I would walk just to be alone with my thoughts. Sometimes listen to music. Then I became interested in learning about writing content and copy. Part of reimagining my life.
I took some courses through American Writers and Artists Institute, which came with recordings of all the sessions. How convenient! I can now watch and listen anytime I like.
So I incorporated these replays into my morning ambulations. What was surprising, beyond picking up ideas in the replay I missed previously, was the compounding effect of strenuously working my body and mind simultaneously.
The synergistic outcome was intense insight and clarity into new ideas I wanted to write about and create content around.
But Why?
It’s no secret that we think differently when we walk. Or do any kind of physical activity, really. Burning off excess energy helps us think more clearly. Who among us hasn’t felt the need, in the heat of an argument, to “take a quick walk” and cool down?
Then there’s the chemicals the brain releases that just make us feel better. An interesting article I found on the Sports Neurology and Pain Medicine website (link below) suggests a time frame for achieving these effects:
“20 to 30 minutes: Endorphins and endocannabinoids are released. Endorphins are feel-good hormones produced by the brain. Endocannabinoids are similar body chemicals that improve mood, stress response, memory, and more.”
Oh. And you kinda gotta keep a brisk pace for this. I’ve seen it anywhere from 80-112 strides per minute. I don’t count; I always just walk like I’m really late for something.
So I’m feeling better, I’m thinking more clearly, my memory is boosted.
Seems like I had a point here…oh yeah! Walking and learning.
So I thought this could be a really effective means to focus and accelerate my learning trajectory. Why don’t I add this to my list of Sunday activities when I visualize what I would like my week to look like?
So, along with lunch prep for the week, I now plan what topic I will strive to understand better, and what my educational playlist will be for the week.
So far, so good!
Size Matters. And Speed.
It’s not enough to just take 10,000 steps a day, apparently. The length and pace of your stride is what actually contributes to the health benefits of the activity.
A CNBC Make It article (link below) from October 2022 states:
“Maintaining a certain frequency, taking a specified number of steps and keeping up with a particular pace can all be helpful in lowering your risk of dementia, cardiovascular disease, cancer and even premature death.”
As I’ve already mentioned, I like to walk like I’m late for something.
I also try to remain conscious of how I’m walking.
How long is my stride? I find I can easily increase the speed of my walk by consciously lengthening each step by about 6-12 inches. Alternately, I’ll slow down and extend my leg as far as is comfortable and feel my hamstrings and quads stretching. Feels gooooood.
Switching it up keeps my awareness up and, frankly, my interest (I don’t know if I told you, but I get bored with exercise).
Occasionally I like to walk backwards. It works my muscles differently and keeps me present in the activity. I’m not recommending it, so if you do it and bust your A, that’s on you. I only do it on a very familiar pathway where there’s no auto traffic. Like a campus track oval.
Loosen Your Body & Free Your Mind
Stretch It Out
It’s also a good idea to prep your muscles with a little light stretching before and after. Doesn’t take much, and it’s a good way to find out if anything on your body is tight or sore.
I mostly focus on my legs, but a few back twists and hip dips feel good too. If you need some ideas for a few basic stretches that only take a few seconds each, check out this Beginner’s Guide to Stretching.
Plan It Out
I mentioned taking a few minutes on Sunday to plan out what you would like to focus on for the week.
I’ve now done it so many weeks in a row that I have a mental calendar that I start each week with. It includes new stuff and replays that I feel need to be revisited.
And you don’t have to pay for new content. There’s about 50 zillion podcasts out there.
If you have an iOS device you already have access to Apple Podcasts.
Spotify has free podcasts w/ads for any device.
There are some other popular services that have free-for-listening with paid premium perks. These are a few preferred by podcast diehards:
- Pocket Casts
- Castro
- Overcast
Pick out episodes that are roughly the length of the walk you plan to take. There is a nice feeling of completion when you finish your walk as a podcast or lesson is wrapping up (put it on a to-do list and scratch it off if you have a persistent brain itch like I do, that responds to that sort of thing).
Occasionally I listen to audiobooks, but I prefer to save those for longer road trips when I can really settle in to the content.
But there are those times when I’m anticipating my Audible subscription credit to get a book I’m excited about digging in to (which is just about every month). Then I’ll put that on heavy rotation for a week.
Be Prepared for Inspiration
Get ready to write some stuff down when you get back to home base, because you’re going to have some ideas you don’t want to forget.
Alternately, I sometimes take a little digital voice recorder with me while walking. And sometimes I jot down key words and phrases in my phone notes app.
If you don’t write it down and forget it? You’ll have to convince yourself that what you thought of is not that important.
Like a famous stand-up comic once said:
Your Challenge For Tomorrow (plan tonight)
- Pick a time for tomorrow when you can go for a 25-30 minute walk (or 10-15 min. just to get the ball rolling)
- Pick the general path you will take that has the least amount of access friction (by that I mean the quickest and easiest access – like your neighborhood, or a very short commute away)
- Invigorate your mind – pick your listening material…
- …and GO!
Feedback?
Do you have a routine, tip or hack that is working for you?
I’d love to hear about it. Just pop it into the CONTACT FORM and I’ll get back to you.
I’m always looking for ways to improve my life, and there’s a lot of experience out in the world. So give it up!
Some stuff I read:
–CNBC Making It – “Taking 10,000 Steps a Day Can Help You…“
–Sports Neurology and Pain Medicine – “This is Exactly What Happens to Your Brain During and After Exercise“
–(For a laugh if you need one) Mitch Hedberg | Mitch Hedberg – Mitch All Together Complete
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