Here's What Walking Does to Your Brain

"A stroll in the park might be just as relaxing and amazing as it sounds.

New research from a Stanford University graduate student found that people who walked through a beautiful and green part of the campus were more attentive and cheerful afterwards than another group that walked for the same amount of time by a loud freeway. The participants walked at their own pace and without music or companions. After the walk, each volunteer went to a lab for a questionnaire and brain scan, which determined their levels of happiness and attentiveness following the exercise. Unsurprisingly, walking along the freeway did not soothe the volunteers' minds, but those who walked in nature demonstrated improvements to their mental health. Those who walked on the Stanford campus showed less blood flow to the subgenual prefrontal cortex, or the part of the brain that handles repetitive thought or negative emotion, which remained high for those who walked along the highway.

Study author Gregory Bratman, a graduate student at Stanford University's Emmett Interdisciplinary Program in Environment and Resources, told the New York Times that these findings “strongly suggest that getting out into natural environments” might be an easy and convenient means for city folks to see a boost in their moods.

Bratman pointed out, however, that this study is only the beginning and more research must be done to determine how much nature time is perfect for one's mental health and what exactly it is about nature that soothes people. How much walking should a person do per day?" ... read more

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