My father-in-law walks. He walks a lot. So much in fact, that over the last 369 days his step average is 23,000+ steps per day and he has had zero days where he failed to hit the 20,000 step mark. His house sits on twelve acres in southern Ohio, and he’s worn trails through the woods with the countless hours he’s spent walking. He knows every tree, every tree root, or “tripper” as he calls them, and often is joined on his walks by the families’ dogs (pictured). He’s their packmaster. He’s also one of the calmest and most level-headed people I know. Coincidence? Maybe not. I honestly believe there is a strong correlation between walking and health.
I can hear the collective “Duh” coming from all my readers as they read that last line, and you’re right. Sure. We all know the physical health benefits that walking can provide. The American Heart Association recommends at least 10,000 steps per day for an adult in order to help stave off heart disease and stroke, the nation’s number one and two killers; and in an age where we are spending more and more time in front of screens, sometimes even that many steps can be hard to come by, putting our physical health at greater risk.
But what about the benefits walking can have on one’s mental health?
The following excerpt is from Warrior Expeditions’ website.
In 1948, Earl Shaffer told a friend he was going to “walk off the war” to work out the sights, sounds, and losses of World War II. Four months later, Earl Shaffer became the first person to hike the entire length of the Appalachian Trail from Georgia to Maine.
Warrior Expeditions is a nonprofit organization that sponsors veterans to hike The Appalachian Trail at no cost to the veteran. They, like me, must believe that there is something more than just physical benefits to walking.
While walking, especially over such long distances, it is impossible to keep your mind from wandering. And as your mind wanders, it tends to go to those things that are weighing on you the heaviest. Whether it is memories from war, how you’re going to pay this month’s bills, or you’re just trying to figure out what that new, ominous sound your car’s been making is, letting your mind have the time to think through your problems has a lasting, positive effect. Your brain has time to process, catalog, and deal with all the stimuli it has taken in. This is necessary to keep yourself mentally healthy.
Often times, when our brain is overloaded, and we don’t take the time to decompress, our problems build on each other. Left unchecked, the problems compound and it takes only something minor and normally insignificant to set off a major meltdown. For instance, when you argued with your spouse last night, it probably wasn’t really about taking out the trash, the dishes, or even the dog. What it was really about are those things buried in your subconscious that you haven’t been dealing with- problems at work, money, that upcoming trip, or something else entirely.
Take the time and let your brain do its thing. It’s pretty good at it.
For me, personally, I don’t do well in large crowds. I feel like I always have to be on guard, vigilant, or surveying the room and the people around me. I don’t know where this stems from, but if I had to guess, I would say that it is probably hypervigilance from my time overseas. This is one of the many ways the traumas of war have manifested in my life. I need to take the time to process that section of my life. I need to go for a walk, the longer the better.
And as I am only at 12,816 steps today, I guess I had better submit this and get off my a**.
Like in all things, you have to remember to take care of yourselves, so after your walk, make sure to rest up.
#WordsThatMatter
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This post is republished on Medium.
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Photo credit: iStock