Why Your Evening Walk Means As Much For Your Mind as Your Body

When my wife and I are not out hiking, we still try to get in an evening walk each night. It was never really something that I liked to do. I was always active in sports through college, but once the coaching staff was gone, it was hard to motivate myself. Now it is hard to go an evening without some type of walk or hike. Not only is it a great opportunity to talk with my wife at the end of the day, but it keeps my body in a shape other than round as well. Now, new research suggests that it may also be a great way to keep my mind in good condition.

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This is especially important to me given my family's history of dementia and Alzheimer's on both sides of my family tree. I know there are no guarantees when it comes to something as complicated as brain health, but knowing that something as simple as taking a walk may help is certainly motivation to keep doing it. Plus, it keeps that spare tire from growing too quickly.

A new meta-analysis looked at 74 studies involving more than 4.2 million people from 30 countries. The researchers found that people who were more physically active during their leisure time had about a 24 percent lower risk of developing dementia than those who were least active. Walking, cycling, running, swimming and sports were among the activities included.

There was an interesting twist, though, that word leisure. Physical activity connected to someone's job was actually associated with a roughly 20 percent higher risk of dementia. So, "exercise" at work is apparently not what we're looking for.

That doesn't mean having a physically demanding job causes dementia. The researchers point out that occupational activity often comes with other factors, including stress, low job control, air and noise pollution, repetitive work, and less opportunity for recreational exercise. In other words, all movement, or exercise, may not happen under the same conditions. Not to mention the study about how financial stress and strain can also cause cognitive decline all by itself. which is directly tied to your career and pay.

Credit: Unsplash / Danie Franco

That distinction makes sense to me. An evening walk is something I choose to do (with some encouragement from my wife). I'm outside, moving at my own pace, talking with my wife, and enjoying the time together. It is exercise, but it is also a break from the rest of the day, which is never less than chaotic.

Now, the research doesn't prove that our walks will prevent dementia. Nothing can make that promise yet. But it does give me another reason to keep putting on my shoes and heading out the door. I started walking because I needed to keep my body moving. These days, I like knowing that I might be doing my brain a favor too.