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In Praise of Walking
A New Scientific Exploration
Shane O'Mara
Read: 2025
My Rating: 6.5/10
In Praise of Walking by Shane O'Mara celebrates the impact of walking on our physical and mental well-being, arguing that it's not just a means of locomotion, but a fundamental aspect of being human.

3 min read

In Praise of Walking: A New Scientific Exploration

Overview

Shane O’Mara draws on neuroscience, evolutionary biology, physiology, and psychology to argue that walking is far more than locomotion. It is a foundational human behaviour that shaped the evolution of our bodies and brains and continues to exert powerful effects on cognition, mood, creativity, and health. The book synthesises evidence from brain-imaging studies, clinical trials, urban-design research, and evolutionary anthropology to make the case that modern sedentary lifestyles represent a profound mismatch with the biology walking built.

Key Concepts

The Evolution of Bipedalism

  • Energy efficiency: bipedal walking is significantly more energy-efficient than quadrupedal locomotion for covering long distances over open terrain; the shift to upright gait in Homo ancestors freed the hands for tool use, carrying food, and gestural communication
  • Thermoregulation: standing upright reduces the body surface exposed to direct overhead sun and elevates the head into faster-moving air currents, improving heat dissipation
  • Co-evolution with the brain: navigating complex, variable environments on foot imposed cognitive demands (spatial mapping, route planning, hazard detection) that may have driven the expansion of hippocampal and prefrontal circuits

Walking and the Brain

  • Hippocampal neurogenesis: aerobic exercise, including brisk walking, stimulates the production of brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF), promoting the growth of new neurons in the hippocampus and improving spatial memory and learning
  • Default mode network activation: the rhythmic, semi-automatic nature of walking allows the brain’s default mode network to operate freely, which may explain the association between walking and creative insight
  • Cognitive mapping: hippocampal place cells and entorhinal grid cells construct internal maps of the environment during navigation; regular walking through varied environments exercises and maintains these spatial-cognitive systems

Physical and Mental Health Effects

  • Cardiovascular and metabolic benefits: regular walking lowers blood pressure, improves insulin sensitivity, reduces visceral fat, and decreases all-cause mortality risk

  • Mood and stress regulation: walking reduces cortisol levels, increases serotonin and endorphin release, and has demonstrated efficacy comparable to antidepressants for mild-to-moderate depression

  • Social walking: walking with others facilitates conversation, synchronises physiological rhythms, and strengthens social bonds

Urban Design and Walkability

  • Walkable cities and public health: urban environments designed for pedestrians (mixed-use zoning, traffic calming, green corridors) correlate with higher physical activity levels, lower obesity rates, and stronger community ties
  • The sedentary mismatch: modern office-bound lifestyles represent an evolutionary mismatch; the human musculoskeletal and cardiovascular systems are adapted for daily multi-kilometre walking
  • Walking as urban policy: O’Mara argues that investing in pedestrian infrastructure is one of the most cost-effective public health interventions available

Personal Reflection

While I found the historical and evolutionary context interesting, as well as the need for walking in our sedentary lives, I was disappointed by the lack of depth in the discussion of the neuroscience and physiology of walking. The book touches on these topics but does not provide the detailed mechanistic explanations I was hoping for. Additionally, some of the claims about walking’s effects on creativity and cognition felt anecdotal rather than rigorously supported by empirical evidence. Overall, while the book is a compelling advocacy for walking, it left me wanting a more thorough exploration of the underlying science.

  • The Story of the Human Body - Lieberman traces the evolution of bipedalism that O’Mara argues shaped cognition
  • Good Nature - Willis provides the broader nature-health evidence O’Mara attributes specifically to walking
  • Chasing the Sun - Both explore how simple, ancestral behaviours are essential to modern health

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