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

Product Information

My thanks to NetGalley and the publisher Penguin Group Putnam for an advanced copy of this book on the walking lifestyle.

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. Terpenes are the trees’ own immune system,” says Streets, “and when you walk underneath them you breathe that self-protection mechanism. There are studies showing that the blood pressure of people walking under evergreens was significantly lower than that of the people walking in a control group.”

I totally related to the authors introduction about growing up in an active family. I was encouraged to walk everywhere, from walking to school, meeting up with my friends and lots of coastal walks on our holidays. Sadly, kids today are driven everywhere and miss out on the wonders of nature all around them by not being encouraged to walk more. As the author states, it’s time to rethink walking. But in adulthood, she fell into a pattern familiar to many of us – days spent hunching towards a computer, evenings prone on the sofa. Working out in the gym, but using the car to get there. The combination of desk job and driving made her body “rounder, softer, achier, stiffer, stooped” and her mind anxious and unsettled. She made a resolution to do as much as she could on foot, getting a dog and proper wet-weather gear for extra motivation. Most woo walk that I actually want to try: Walk with negative air ions, which can be found near waterfalls, other flowing water, in the mountains, on a misty spring morning, or after a downpour.

Walking had become, once again, the great adventure of my life. But this time science could explain how and why"

Walking allows us to experience chance encounters with others. Greeting the people we meet with a smile while walking in a neighborhood makes us feel better and return home happier. Walk in the Rain

Streets recommends using your peripheral vision and scanning your landscape before you walk, because research has found lifting your gaze can help you relax. 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 Walking strengthens our bodies, calms our minds and lifts our spirits. But it does so much more than this. Our vision, hearing, respiration, sleep, cognition, memory, blood pressure, sense of smell and balance are all enhanced by how we walk. For instance:

How I Intend to Use the Book

Research has shown a late afternoon walk among green trees is as effective as taking a sleeping pill, she says.

Her body grew rounder, softer, achier, stiffer and more stooped. And Annabel felt more anxious, unsettled and discontent. She chose to reconnect with the simple joys of walking, to reclaim her health and wellbeing. Annabel Streets delves into the science and romanticism of walking and explores the good things that can happen with this one small act’ – Reader’s DigestIt sort of puts so many things into perspective so you feel both sort of enlarged, in a mysterious way, but also feel shrunk down, you’re this tiny ant in this huge, huge cosmos. I wasn't sure what I was going to get with this book, although it shouldn't have been a surprise given the rather informative title, but it was so unexpectedly delightful! 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 Book A delightful balance of ideas, inspiration and science' Tristan Gooley, author of The Walker's Guide to Outdoor Clues & Signs 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