President’s Message
Fellow Rotarians,
Very Warm Greetings!
It is said that William Wordsworth — called a ‘poet of nature’, whose poetry is filled with tramping up hills, through dales, forests, around lakes, and along public roads, walked as much as 180,000 miles in his lifetime i.e. an average of about six and a half miles each day, starting from the age of five. Probably a real ‘Johnnie Walker’!
Next time someone says: ‘take a walk’, smile with positivity and say ‘thank you, I certainly will’ and here’s why:
It is said that walking stimulates one’s thinking and writing skills. The scientific reason for this is that it changes our body chemistry. Walking boosts energy and causes the heart to pump faster, circulating more blood and oxygen not just to the muscles, toning and strengthening leg muscles and alleviating or easing joint pains, but to all our organs, including our brain. It is also supposed to increase the volume of the hippocampus (the brain region crucial for memory), thereby improving memory and preventing the deterioration of brain tissue as we age. It is said to elevate levels of molecules that both stimulate the growth of new neurons and transmission of messages between them, thankfully, quite unlike our present erratic mobile signals and coverage issues in Mumbai. Studies after studies have shown that those who adhere to a regular walking programme show significant improvements in blood sugar levels and blood pressure, slowing of resting heart rate, improved breathing, burning calories and hence reduction of body fat and body weight, reduced cholesterol, boosting the immune system and functions, improved digestion, improved mood, reduced depression and anxiety with better quality of life, increased measures of stamina and endurance and even better sleep quality. Many experiments have evidenced that soon after or during exercise, people perform better on tests of attention and memory. Walking delays onset of varicose veins, reduces risk of dementia and Alzheimer’s and slows down mental decline. And, moreover, it is zero calorie compared to a glass of wine or a piece of dark chocolate
Other studies have shown that walking increases creative output substantially which researchers have labelled as “divergent thinking”. It ‘clears the head’ and helps creative thinking. According to some studies, “walking opens up the free flow of ideas, and it is a simple and robust solution to the goals of increasing creativity and increasing physical activity.” Since we don’t have to devote much of our conscious effort to the act of walking, our attention is free to glaze, to overlay the world before us with an array of images. This kind of mental state seems to be linked to innovative ideas — the ‘Eureka moments’.
The manner in which we move our bodies further changes the nature of our thoughts, and vice versa. Psychologists specializing in ‘exercise music’ have determined what many of us probably already know: listening to songs with high tempos motivates us to run faster, and the swifter we move, the faster we prefer our music. When we stroll or meander along gingerly, the pace of our feet naturally vacillates with our moods. We can actively change the pace of our thoughts by deliberately walking more briskly or by slowing down.
Where we walk matters as well. Some studies have shown that students who strolled through botanical gardens performed better on a memory test than students who walked along city streets. Likewise, many studies suggest that spending time in ‘green spaces’ (gardens, parks, forests) can rejuvenate the mental resources that man-made environments easily deplete.
Even then, urban walks do offer unique advantages for the mind. A walk through a city provides more immediate stimulation — a greater variety of sensations for the mind to play with. But, if we are already at the brink of overstimulation, we probably require turning to nature.
So let’s all ‘take a walk’.
Preeti Mehta
President
