Walk More. Die Less

Exercise is what you need to do to stay above the dirt.

If you can walk, you should. You’ll die less.

If you walk more than 4,000 steps per day you reduce your risk of dying from any cause by 20% to 30%. Every thousand steps above that lowers your risks even further.

Sitting still all day and not walking — Bad.

Walking to counteract silly sitting — Good.

If you aren’t able to walk due to injuries or physical condition, I feel for you. This next paragraph doesn’t apply.

If you are physically able to walk, listen up:

Do you check how many steps you’ve traveled in a day? If you pack a phone, it can tell you. Getting less than 4000 steps means you’re sedentary as fuck. You need to do something about that! Get up, walk around, move your body. You can do it! It won’t cost you anything.

Don’t worry, you can bring your precious, your phone.

Bring your phone, put it in your pocket, and ignore it. Don’t be the one slowly wandering namby-pamby with your face aimed at your slave-collar-screen like a zombie. This is walking time. Head up, eyes forward, arms swinging.

Walk like you mean it. You can TiK TaK later.

Walking is one of the best forms of exercise, and it’s virtually free. It combines physical activity with fresh air and scenery. Spending time outside is good for the mind, body, and soul. It’s therapeutic and healthy. There’s no replacement for it.

I like to get outdoors and hit the trails. And when I can’t go out in the wilderness, I enjoy walking on sidewalks or paved paths in town. I look at the sky and watch birds fly by. I notice flowers planted in yards. I nod at dog walkers and runners.

Nature is outside your door if you look. It’s the free ingredient that can bring magic into your life.

Wilderness is the best, but don’t discount your local park, sidewalk, dirt road, or even up and down in front of a strip mall. It all counts.

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1. Walking is Great Exercise

I hope you’ll go for a walk today. It’s really good for you.

A thirty-minute walk improves your cardiovascular fitness and gets your whole body active. It also improves your mood and can help with anxiety.

The lymphatic system, our secondary circulatory system, helps protect against infections and maintains fluid levels in the body. It produces lymphocytes or white blood cells. But the lymphatic system doesn’t have a heart pumping the fluid around. Exercise is the pump. Walking moves that lymph fluid around and helps it do its job.

Sitting still means our secondary circulatory system is struggling to cope.

A sidewalk adventure is just fine. It’s more important to walk every day in whatever location you’ve got than to try to save it up for “better” places that you have to travel to by car. Daily doses of strolling counteract all of our silly sitting.

If you can get to to a park or trail, hiking takes it to the next level. When you wander down a trail, it isn’t flat and straight like a sidewalk. It has irregular features like gravel, dirt, rocks, roots, and puddles.

There are little deviations everywhere. Ducking around a branch to avoid a face full of leaves. Side stepping around a puppy surprise left behind by an uncouth dog owner. Meandering up a hill with a side slope and a drop-off on one side.

All of this engages multiple muscle groups. Instead of just repetitively walking in a straight line, you use your core, your arms, your whole body.

Your cardiovascular system has to up its game too. You get that breath going faster and build some heat in your body.

Exercise is what you need to do to stay above the dirt. Hiking gives you plenty.

2. Walking Sharpens The Mind

Walkers get the brain working at full capacity. That’s why it’s good to explore a new neighborhood, sidewalk, or trail.

Most people repeat the same actions every day:

• brushing teeth the same way every morning

• holding a coffee cup with the right hand

• feeding your minions (some call them children)

• washing your popcorn (well, maybe not everyone’s day-to-day)

These normal activities are all on autopilot. You’re so programmed that you brush your teeth or wash your popcorn without even thinking about it.

When you go outside, your brain wakes up again. Now you have to navigate all the little unknowns. Making micro-adjustments to your balance to keep your footing. Going down a slope or some stairs takes precision in your steps. Watching for traffic. Avoiding the dog poo.

The old noggin is making a ton of tiny decisions every few feet just to stay upright and not trip and fall on your face or step on a landmine.

All of this sharpens the tack. Upgraded reflexes and mental toughness are the result. You take that home with you. It makes your daily life better.

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3. Walking Lowers Stress Levels

We all have a lot going on. Our lives in this modern world make us stressed. A good outdoor walk can settle you back down and drop your cortisol levels.

We evolved to see an open sky with sun and clouds and to be around trees, dirt, and rocks. We aren’t meant to spend every day indoors, staring at screens and watching TikTok. As soon as you go outside and stroll about, your inner storm releases a little tension.

Getting outside and moving releases feel-good brain chemicals that help your mood, drop your stress, and give you a good mental break.

4. Walking Boosts Creativity

Exercise gets the blood flowing through the brain. This helps big time. More oxygen and nutrients mean that your thinking tools stay sharp.

Walking seems to do something special to the creative process. It speaks to your spirit. Your subconscious mind rumbles to life.

“All truly great thoughts are conceived by walking.” – Friedrich Nietzsche

This is especially true if you can find some trees, grass, or a pond on your walk.

I use walking to boost my creativity. I always make notes on my phone by dictating to Siri in the free Notes app. Sometimes I can’t keep up with the creativity. It just keeps throwing ideas out there like a hockey player shooting pucks at me.

I save it all and go home rich with ideas. Thanks, nature!

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This is Time2Thrive, a newsletter that helps people find simple ways to get healthier, eat with intention, and care for their bodies.

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