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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

[To be added]

  • 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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