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. An inspiring guide to walking each week of the year, with 52 science-based essays on how, when, where and why to do it. in the 1960s biologists realized that the bluish haze often seen over landscapes is a vast cloud of molecules and gases produced by trees and plants. Those emissions benefit earth’s atmosphere. Now we are discovering that they deliver positive benefits to us as well, when we walk in the woods. Health benefits include reduced risks for type 2 diabetes, cardiovascular disease, early death, high blood pressure and stress. 52 Ways to Walk – Week 19 Amble Amid Trees Walk with Your Nose We’re so eye focused that it’s quite hard, sometimes you have to literally close your eyes to stop all the distraction that’s coming in visually.

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. Ways to Walk is published by Bloomsbury in the UK and Putnam Penguin Random House in the US under Annabel Streets. I appreciate that the book contains a full year of weekly walks. And it inspires me to create other interesting walks as well. The science also shows walking in a group or with a friend, even if just in your imagination, can help long distances or high mountains feel less intimidating, she says. One of the joys of 52 Ways to Walk is discovering that there’s a scientific basis for much of what we’d call common sense or folk wisdom – and so much of it is rooted in leaving the house and going for a walk: getting the sun on your skin can help your immune system, and there’s nothing harmful in getting covered in mud. In fact, it can help your gut health.

Examples from 52 Ways to Walk

I love the easy to use format and the mix of tips, stories, science and fun in each chapter. Walking as an exercise is important to me. The health benefits are many plus it is a recommended activity for the Blue Zones lifestyle. 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 Digest I love walking. I thought there was nothing I needed to learn about it but I learned a lot from this book. I recommend it to anyone looking to enhance their daily walks or to start walking more than they currently do.

Due to medical issues I've not been able to walk as much as I usually do these past few months (typically 5 miles in the morning and another 2 or so in the evening), and as I'm currently recovering from surgery, I'm not quite up for a brisk uphill climb in the rain just yet. But I did spend most of the time listening to this book pacing up and down my hallway/kitchen, and am so very much looking forward to being able to get out walking again very soon!She is also an advocate for walking in the dark because it prompts the body’s production of melatonin, which is the hormone that helps us sleep. 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 (to name a few) are all enhanced by how we walk. For instance:

Urges readers to put on walking shoes, offering a weekly, new perspective on walking, no matter where you live’ – Irish Independent 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.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

When I read the title for this book, 52 Ways To Walk, I was intrigued. How can the author possibly come up with 52 weeks worth of different walking styles for readers to try? Then I read the book and discovered so much more about the benefits of walking as well as 52 examples of walking styles to try. Motivation is a large aspect of this book, so Ms. Streets writes about walking in the rain, the mud, the wind and the snow. The best attire for foul weather walking, with sensible advice o how to be safe. The book is more nudging than pedantic and that is nice as many self- help books can be frankly a tad, no a lot bossy. And letting your skin feel the cold air as you walk triggers the body’s production of brown fat, which helps us burn calories, she says. We have turned on to a path that follows the Thames. Reflected sunlight gives a chrome cast to the river. “It’s magical,” says Streets, looking out at the refracting glitter, “and when the sun shines down on the water like this it means you get twice as much light, so you get twice the serotonin boost and serotonin is what makes us happy.” This is a typical blend of the scientific and the romantic found in the book. For Streets, a waterfall doesn’t stop being inspiring and wonderful when you know that the presence of negative ions, molecules of air and water charged with electricity, are the reason for your lowered heart rate and reduced stress. Studies on the potential effects of the full moon – covering everything from a higher rate of women going into labour to increases in violent crime – are inconclusive, but Streets feels that adds to “the eerie, enigmatic qualities of a moonlit walk”. Any walk can be turned into a more rewarding and beneficial experience. When we walk in the cold, for example, our bodies use more glucose to warm us up. As glucose enhances cognition, we think better in cold climates. Interestingly, cognition improves even when looking at images of cold things. According to the author, mild cold = 16C. That made me laugh as 16C is considered pleasant weather in a Scottish spring or summer!I will say though, there’s a fair bit of science shared in each chapter relating to the style of walk being introduced. This may be a little too in depth for some people, I found myself skim reading at times where the science bit was a little too in depth. However, I’m sure there will be plenty of keen walkers who will really enjoy reading the latest science findings being shared in each chapter. Summary