52 Ways to Walk: The Surprising Science of Walking for Wellness and Joy, One Week at a Time

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But I think if you want to reflect or you want to work out a solution to a problem or sort of have more creative ideas, it probably is best to go on your own or perhaps with a dog but the idea is then you’re not engaged with talking, you’re just engaged with thinking.” I always think a walk is best if you leave everything behind—certainly leave your phone behind—and there’s something so liberating about having so little with you … walking is completely liberating, you don’t need anything, you don’t need to know where you’re going, you can go wherever you like.”

This short, enthusiastic guide extollingwalking’s mental and physical benefits, and will motivate you to get outside and move, step by step, all year.”— AARPStreets goes through them all, explaining the who, what, when, where, why, and how of each kind of walk. A surprisingly high number of studies have been done on walking and its benefits. I do wonder how much we can take from a study of a group of 60 walkers (many of the studies referenced include less than 100 participants), but a lot of the things she claims make sense. If you walk in the morning, it can help you wake up. If you walk in the evening after dinner, it can help you sleep better. It makes sense, right? Our sense of smell is the most primitive of the senses. To fully activate that sense and awaken the other senses, walk in an area rich in aromatic plant life. Walk slowly, occasionally closing the eyes and placing hands over the ears and be guided by the nose. Follow a River Streets recommends using your peripheral vision and scanning your landscape before you walk, because research has found lifting your gaze can help you relax. She is also an advocate for walking in the dark because it prompts the body’s production of melatonin, which is the hormone that helps us sleep.

I can never understand why people out walking in the countryside wear earbuds. Take them out and listen to the birds, the trees rustling in the wind, the babbling brook, and you won’t make other walkers feel awkward when they speak to you by having to wait while you take them out! Dr Kate McLean has mapped smellscapes across the world in a variety of environments. Google her to see her extraordinary maps. Smells are enhanced by rainfall so walk in the rain or just after a shower. Walking beside rivers or amongst trees has many health benefits, including reducing stress levels. It’s suggested that we sing or dance while we walk but I won’t be doing that any time soon, even if it’s only my dog that can hear me! Good to know though that as an ‘older dog owner’, walking him is improving my brain health. Ways to Walk was born out of Annabel’s reconnection with walking and the desire to encourage others to rethink walking and reclaim it from their molecular memories. 52 Ways to Walk – Week 1 Walk in the Cold How to Use the Book The 52 Ways to Walk project was actually the product of over-enthusiastic research. Streets, who also writes as Annabel Abbs, has written several historical novels, all based on real women, like Lucia Joyce, a professional dancer and the daughter of James Joyce; or Frieda Weekley who eloped with DH Lawrence and is considered to be the inspiration for Lady Chatterley. Streets had been working on a nonfiction book, Windswept, where she walked the routes taken by famous women, such as the artist Georgia O’Keeffe or the nature writer Nan Shepherd. “There was memoir and biography and I had also included a lot of scientific research about walking,” she says. “My editor, quite rightly, insisted I remove it.” Rather than let it go to waste, that research was the start of 52 Ways. “Other people, who were much more expert than me on various topics, were very generous with their knowledge and their time,” she says. “There are shelves and shelves of research on walking, but I think people have largely found it unsexy.” Landscapes with running water have a restorative effect on the mood of the walker. The mind unwinds and the brain relaxes, helping us to feel tranquil and energized at the same time. Tote along lightweight binoculars for watching wildlife along the river and wear sunglasses to protect eyes from glare off of the water. 52 Ways to Walk – Week 17 Follow a River How I Intend to Use the Books obzirom na sumanutu kilometražu koju svakodnevno prolazim hodajući, nadala sam se da će mi ovaj priručnik unijeti dašak svježine dok, eto, prolazim manje-više istim rutama i na to trošim (ili, ako obrneš: ulažem) sate i sate. A delightful balance of ideas, inspiration and science. The short punchy chapters fit well between walks and make them even more enjoyable.”—Tristan Gooley, author of The Walker’s Guide to Outdoor Clues & Signs Annabel Streets is searching for a conifer. It is a bright, early March day and we are looping around the gardens of Fulham Palace in southwest London. She spots what she is looking for: a large spreading yew tree. We stand looking up at the clusters of leathery, spiked leaves and breathe deeply. “Every day I stand under an evergreen tree now,” she says. “I have become obsessed with terpenes.”

Annabel grew up in a carless family. Her father never learned to drive and her mother failed her driving test seven times. The family lived in remote places without access to public transportation, so if they needed something, they walked to obtain it. The science also shows walking in a group or with a friend, even if just in your imagination, can help long distances or high mountains feel less intimidating, she says.

Meet the Author, Annabel Streets

Writer and keen walker Annabel Streets has been researching the science behind walking, and has found walking can expand your mind, build muscle, boost your immunity, improve your vision, burn calories, help you sleep, reduce anxiety, improve your memory and lift your mood. Walking strengthens our bodies, calms our minds and uplifts our spirits. We know this intuitively, and recent years have seen an explosion of scientific and evidence-based research to substantiate that. I wonder if sometimes it’s about perception,” she says, about walking alone. “At home we know all the horror stories and all their locations, but when we’re elsewhere we don’t have that knowledge. We don’t know about the horrible things, so we think we’re safe. And nine times out of 10 we are. We look at women in the past who’ve done big journeys and think they’re intrepid or brave, but they also didn’t have daily news stories about what could go wrong.” Walking in the rain, for example, is healthy because the air pollution clears up and nature’s molecules move around, she says.

Motivation is a large aspect of this book, so Ms. Streets writes about walking in the rain, the mud, the wind and the snow. The best attire for foul weather walking, with sensible advice o how to be safe. The book is more nudging than pedantic and that is nice as many self- help books can be frankly a tad, no a lot bossy. Work is the obvious one, so I actually bought myself a walking desk, which is like a treadmill, but it’s got a desk bit on the front … And you can just work while your legs are moving, and I’ve found that really beneficial in so many ways. Full Book Name: 52 Ways to Walk: The Surprising Science of Walking for Wellness and Joy, One Week at a Time We might think we know everything we need to about walking but there is always more to discover. This book is about how walking is connected both to old wisdom and new scientific frontiers of discovery … If you’re not a habitual walker this book will give you good reasons why you should get started and, if you are experienced, ways to keep it fresh … Fascinating.’– Lauren Laverne As a person who walks for both physical and mental health, rather than a particular destination, Annabel Streets' 52 Ways to Walk: The Surprising Science of Walking for Wellness and Joy, One Week at a Time is both an inspiration, and a revelation. I knew that walking made me feel better, especially during these super trying times, but I wasn't sure why, nor how I could make a walk around my neighborhood more interesting.People who studied this in walking meetings found that people who moved are able to come up with more ideas, it’s almost as though the movement shakes your brain a bit and you start to make connections… through different parts of your memory, different parts of your brain that you don’t when you’re sitting down.” A delightfully original love letter to an activity humans were designed to do throughout the course of each day. Modern life has rendered walking an optional pursuit, but Streets makes a compelling, evidence-based case for the benefits of a daily stroll… A gift for walking enthusiasts as well as those who need a little nudge to put on their walking shoes, 52 Ways to Walk will render redundant all of the usual excuses by presenting creative, weather-conscious options for every type of walker.”— Shelf Awareness A decade ago, scientists discovered that loud noises stopped new neurons from forming in the brain, in the regions linked to memory and learning. Two hours of silence every day produced new neurons. Walking in a quiet place allows the body to reset and the brain to create new neurons. Amble Amid Trees