Experiencing Cabin Fever? Walking is Great for Health, Creativity, and Mindfulness

Forget baseball or watching football. It’s official – America’s favorite pastime is walking.

In the long months since COVID-19 began limiting many of our activities, and more of us started working from home, walking has become the default antidote to cabin fever.

Going for a walk is a diversion from a world that’s both wildly uncertain and filled with tedious routine. A stroll around the block isn’t as exciting as a trip to Kuala Lumpur, but there are countless benefits to stretching your legs.

A Walking Brain is an Active Brain

Walking is so good for us in so many ways that if it were a pill, we’d happily take it.

Research shows that walking lowers body mass, cholesterol, and blood pressure. It also improves memory and cognitive function. What’s more, studies find walking boosts our moods, reduces depression, and even spurs creativity.

Have you ever wondered why your best ideas strike you while strolling? Researchers at Stanford asked people to come up with alternative uses for everyday objects and found that people who walked before given the task came up with twice as many ideas as those who stayed put.

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A walking brain is a more active brain. It’s more capable of imagination, creation, and problem-solving, according to Shane O’Mara, a Trinity College professor and author of the book “In Praise of Walking: A New Science of Exploration.”

One of O’Mara’s recommendations for when you’re stuck on a challenging problem is to write it down, then take a hike. Often, a solution comes to mind before you return home.

Adding Mindfulness to Your Walk

Along with multiple health and cognitive benefits, walking also is a valuable mindfulness practice. Bringing awareness to our bodies while walking quiets a mind whirling with worry about the future or the past.

Walking mindfully also brings mindfulness practice into our daily lives. Even short walks from your desk to the bathroom can be a space for mindfulness practice, offering a few moments of awareness and ease in the busyness of your day.

Here are five tips on how you can put more mindfulness into your step.

• We often go on autopilot when walking from our cars into our homes or the grocery store. Sometimes, we’re so busy thinking we barely notice we’re moving. Instead of checking out, we can check-in and notice the sensations that arise as we move.
• When practicing mindful walking, we use the physical sensations in our legs and feet to anchor our attention in the present moment.
• With each step, we notice the sway of our hips, the stretch of our legs, the bend in our knee, and the placing of our feet on the ground. 
• At first, it’s helpful to walk slowly when practicing mindful walking. A good rule of thumb is to walk at a pace that allows you to stay connected to sensation. 
• With time and practice, it’s possible to walk mindfully at a regular place. But you might discover slowing down and becoming attuned to your body in movement is yet another benefit of walking and of mindfulness.

With the pandemic still going on and many people still working and going to school from home, it’s easy to feel the effects of cabin fever. Adding mindful walking to your daily routine can help you safely get outside, gain more awareness of your surroundings, boost your mood and creativity, and help your mind become unstuck.

Written by Kelly Barron