Why going for a walk matters

Are you spending most of your waking hours staring at a screen—a computer, phone, television, or all three? You’re not alone. One of the challenges of being a highly stressed NGO leader can be the static nature of spending your day online answering emails, participating in Zoom calls, writing board reports and funding applications, managing finances, and updating social media content. It’s an endless list! How does this impact your stress levels and well-being?

I started looking at ways to improve my health and well-being at the beginning of last year. I was suffering from many effects of high stress as an NGO leader—adrenal fatigue, gut issues, and difficulty sleeping to name a few. Books, podcasts, courses, blogs, articles, and so on offered me many solutions. The one thing that worked best for me was a lot simpler—going for a walk!

Here’s how going for a walk matters to me and has helped me reduce my stress levels and begin to recover my well-being:

Working at home made it easy to roll out of bed, sit in front of my computer, and start my day without getting my body moving first. Even worse was when I checked emails and socials on my phone before getting out of bed! Once I started getting up for an hour’s walk in the morning, my day began in a much more positive way that got my whole system going—body, brain, and spirit.

In my high-stress state, my body was running off cortisol. I would regularly feel antsy and nervous—that feeling of low-level anxiety (‘wired but tired’). I often felt frustrated, grumpy, or extra stressed when I got off a call or out of a meeting. I would generally grumble to myself and reach for a treat—something sugary, something alcoholic, or something mind-numbing (YouTube doggie videos, anyone?). Instead, a quick 5-minute walk around the block would positively change my state.

Oh, in this world of online media, it was always so tempting to pick up my phone and start browsing to get a little dopamine hit. Choosing instead to go for a walk has naturally increased my dopamine levels while also making me feel super proud of my motivated self! It’s much better for my brain too. Even if I miss a day or two (I’m very fair weather!), I start again the next day without beating myself up.

Being trapped in front of my computer all day meant my circadian rhythm was all over the place. This seriously impacted my sleep patterns. Getting out into nature exposes my eyes to natural sunlight, which then helps me regulate my melatonin levels and circadian rhythm. I’ve even stopped wearing sunglasses as much as possible to help my body respond better to daylight.

I’d always heard there were benefits of Vitamin D, but I underestimated its importance. It’s a core vitamin to help my body stay healthy. Good levels of Vitamin D help maintain my calcium levels, reduce fatigue and muscle cramps, and help elevate my mood. It’s easy to naturally increase my Vitamin D intake just by going outside for a good walk.

One of the challenges I found being highly stressed was that I became very trapped in my head. This resulted in a LOT of thinking (way, way too much), which wasn’t great for sleeping either. It also meant I was very out of touch with my body. This made me very uncoordinated when trying to do physical exercise (trying to follow what an exercise instructor told me to do became surprisingly tricky!). Feeling more grounded in my body is an ongoing journey that is helped by walking.

When I was highly stressed, finding the energy to socialize was tough. As a consequence, my social life gradually whittled down. Walking with friends has become fun where we can walk and talk together. I also do catch-ups on the phone. If the wind is not too bad, I can even manage walking during meetings.

I’ve discovered so many benefits of walking along the way. I keep these in mind when trying to stay motivated—getting oxygen pumping around the body, improving immune systems, burning calories, cutting down on sugar cravings, helping regulate insulin, helping improve sleep, reducing depressive feelings, circulating blood and oxygen, easing muscles and joint pain, and improving digestion.

So get yourself some good walking shoes and comfy walking clothes, and get out there! A 5-minute walk around the block is great for changing your state. A 1-hour walk in the morning is even better for your overall well-being!

Listen to inspiring NGO leaders discussing their own well-being journey (co-hosted by myself and Tuihana Ohia).

Happy walking!

Rochelle x