7 Ways a 20-Minute Walk Improves a Writer’s Life

Surveys show that most Americans want to get in shape. You may have this as one of your New Year’s resolutions.

We also understand that daily exercise is important for good health.

Yet those same surveys show that despite these two facts, the majority of Americans don’t commit to daily exercise. Only a third say they make regular exercise a habit, while 45 percent said they aren’t active at all.

Many writers can relate. We’re super busy, and any spare minute we have we’re likely to try to use for writing or platform-building activities.

Exercise is known to boost energy, concentration, and creativity—all benefits that are valuable to writers—but if we don’t find a way to fit it into our lives, we’re not only missing out on these benefits, we’re putting our health at risk.

Here’s something you can try no matter how busy your life is—a daily, 20-minute walk. Studies have shown that this simple activity can do wonders for your mental and physical health, and it may be just what you need to get yourself back into a regular exercise program.

1. It Helps Relieves Stress and May Lengthen Your Life

A writer’s life can be stressful, particularly if you’re writing while holding down a day job and raising a family. Short-term stress is normal, but chronic stress can put your life at risk.

In one study of over 118,000 men and women, researchers discovered that the more stress people experienced, the higher their risk of mortality. Yet a simple 20-minute walk helped counteract the effects of stress, protecting the exercisers against the mortality risk.

In another study of over 334,000 Europeans with an average age of 50, scientists found that those who engaged in just a brisk 20-minute walk daily were 16 to 30 percent less likely to die prematurely than people who didn’t exercise.

If at all possible, head out to a local park or your nearest nature refuge. Research shows that a 20-minute walk in nature—as long as you leave your smartphone home—decreased levels of the stress hormone cortisol.

2. It Improves Your Thinking

When facing the blank page, you need your sharp mind and rich imagination. Sometimes life doesn’t cooperate, though, and you may find yourself feeling tired, groggy, or dull.

A short walk can fix it. Research shows that no matter what your age, taking a walk will have a positive effect on your cognitive performance—even if it’s only 10 minutes long. Memory, concentration, and decision-making all improve, which can help you get the results you want from your writing session.

3. It Boosts Your Mood

If you can’t get your emotions in line to write, take a short walk. In a study from psychologists at Iowa State University, walking for just 12 minutes was found to help powerfully lift mood.

As for where you need to walk, according to this study, it didn’t matter. The mood-boosting benefits occurred whether the participants walked through buildings, outside, or on a treadmill.

4. It Reduces Your Risk of Depression

Creative people are particularly vulnerable to depression and anxiety, scientists say. You may have struggled with these feelings in the past. Protect yourself and your emotions with a daily 20-minute walk. According to a 2018 study, just 20 minutes a day cut risk of developing depression by one-third.

The researchers analyzed the results from 49 studies involving over 266,000 people, and found that those who followed this recommendation were 31 percent less likely to develop depression over the 7.5-year research period compared to those who didn’t.

5. It Increases Energy

Next time you need to wake up a bit to write, instead of reaching for that caffeinated soda, try taking a walk instead.

Researchers at the University of Georgia found that participants who engaged in as little as 20 minutes of low-to-moderate aerobic exercise (like walking) three days a week reported an increase in energy levels and a reduction in feelings of fatigue.

6. It Boosts Your Creativity

When you’re stuck on a story, a short walk might be all you need to come up with a new solution.

That’s because walking boosts creative inspiration. Over the course of four experiments involving 176 college students and other adults, scientists found that the overwhelming majority of the participants in all experiments were more creative while walking than while sitting.

Even more encouraging—their creative output increased by an average of 60 percent while walking, and continued for a short time after the participants stopped walking, too.

Since the positive effects were observed while walking, you may want to take a notebook to jot down any ideas that occur to you. A smartphone works too as long as you don’t succumb to the temptation to use it for other things!

7. One More Benefit of Daily 20-Minute Walks

In addition to the above six benefits, a short daily walk can do one more very important thing for you—help you exercise more.

If you’re struggling to fit exercise into your life, start with just a 10-minute walk. In a 2011 study, researchers found that this was enough to initiate a gradually increasing amount of exercise per day.

Those who committed to this daily walk gradually found themselves walking for longer periods, which creates even more health benefits.

Do you try to get in a daily walk?

---

_{Sources
Cambridge University. (2015, January 14). Lack of exercise responsible for twice as many deaths as obesity. Retrieved from https://www.cam.ac.uk/research/news/lack-of-exercise-responsible-for-twice-as-many-deaths-as-obesity}

_{CDC. (2013, May 2). CDC Online Newsroom | Press Release | One in five adults meet overall physical activity guidelines. Retrieved from https://www.cdc.gov/media/releases/2013/p0502-physical-activity.html}

_{Ducharme, J. (2019, January 25). Can Exercise Prevent Depression? Here’s What the Science Says. Retrieved from https://time.com/5511322/exercise-depression-mental-health/}

_{Edwards, M. K., & Loprinzi, P. D. (2018). Experimental effects of brief, single bouts of walking and meditation on mood profile in young adults. Health Promotion Perspectives, 8(3), 171-178. doi:10.15171/hpp.2018.23}

_{Ekelund, U., Ward, H. A., Norat, T., Luan, J., May, A. M., Weiderpass, E., … Riboli, E. (2015). Physical activity and all-cause mortality across levels of overall and abdominal adiposity in European men and women: the European Prospective Investigation into Cancer and Nutrition Study (EPIC). The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, 101(3), 613-621. doi:10.3945/ajcn.114.100065}

_{Hunter, M. R., Gillespie, B. W., & Chen, S. Y. (2019). Urban Nature Experiences Reduce Stress in the Context of Daily Life Based on Salivary Biomarkers. Frontiers in Psychology, 10. doi:10.3389/fpsyg.2019.00722}

_{Knapton, S. (2018, April 24). Exercising for 20 minutes-a-day cuts risk of developing depression by one third. Retrieved from https://www.telegraph.co.uk/science/2018/04/24/exercising-20-minutes-a-day-cuts-risk-developing-depression/}

_{Lamberg, E. (2016, November 16). Walking THIS Number of Minutes Will Boost Your Mood, According to New Science. Retrieved from https://www.thehealthy.com/exercise/walking/walking-boost-mood/}

_{Mualem, R. (2018). The Effect of Movement on Cognitive Performance. Front Public Health, 2018(6), 100. doi:10.3389/fpubh.2018.00100}

_{Oregon State University. (2017, October 5). High to moderate levels of stress lead to higher mortality rate. Retrieved from https://today.oregonstate.edu/archives/2011/oct/high-moderate-levels-stress-lead-higher-mortality-rate}

_{Serwe, K. M., Swartz, A. M., Hart, T. L., & Strath, S. J. (2011). Effectiveness of Long and Short Bout Walking on Increasing Physical Activity in Women. Journal of Women’s Health, 20(2), 247-253. doi:10.1089/jwh.2010.2019}

_{Stanford University. (2014, April 24). Stanford study finds walking improves creativity. Retrieved from https://news.stanford.edu/2014/04/24/walking-vs-sitting-042414/}

_{Study: Americans want to be fit, but don’t put in the work. (2017, June 20). Retrieved from https://www.upi.com/Health_News/2017/06/20/Study-Americans-want-to-be-fit-but-dont-put-in-the-work/2821497970498/}