52 Ways to Walk: The Surprising Science of Walking for Wellness and Joy, One Week at a Time

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Highly recommended for lovers of walking and nature, as well as those seeking a holistic fitness plan. 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

This book covers much of the science of walking together with the health benefits and research undertaken. A delightfully original love letter to an activity humans were designed to do throughout the course of each day. Modern life has rendered walking an optional pursuit, but Streets makes a compelling, evidence-based case for the benefits of a daily stroll… A gift for walking enthusiasts as well as those who need a little nudge to put on their walking shoes, 52 Ways to Walk will render redundant all of the usual excuses by presenting creative, weather-conscious options for every type of walker.”— Shelf Awareness Fascinating ... C onnected both to old wisdom and new scientific frontiers of discovery ' Lauren Laverne

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most: Walk like a nomad, a meditative practice where you sync your steps with your breaths (3 steps breathe in, 1 step hold in, 3 steps breathe out, 1 step hold out) (perhaps even through your nose). I can never understand why people out walking in the countryside wear earbuds. Take them out and listen to the birds, the trees rustling in the wind, the babbling brook, and you won’t make other walkers feel awkward when they speak to you by having to wait while you take them out! Dr Kate McLean has mapped smellscapes across the world in a variety of environments. Google her to see her extraordinary maps. Smells are enhanced by rainfall so walk in the rain or just after a shower. Walking beside rivers or amongst trees has many health benefits, including reducing stress levels. It’s suggested that we sing or dance while we walk but I won’t be doing that any time soon, even if it’s only my dog that can hear me! Good to know though that as an ‘older dog owner’, walking him is improving my brain health.

Urges readers to put on walking shoes, offering a weekly, new perspective on walking, no matter where you live’ – Irish Independent There’s more and more studies and data showing that pollution, particularly the smaller pollution PM2.5, is particularly bad for us, it’s been linked to all sorts of things from Alzheimer’s to brain fog to respiratory disease.Walking had become, once again, the great adventure of my life. But this time science could explain how and why” The book, 52 Ways to Walk by Annabel Streets, carries the subtitle “The surprising science of walking for wellness and joy, one week at a time.” I appreciate the “wellness and joy” aspects of the book. And, I absolutely love the format. My imagination immediately fired up as I read through the book. There are many areas of health – mental health, emotional health, gut health, etc. Can walking really help them all? 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 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.

I was always taught to walk before a meal and not afterwards. I now know that both are good for me. Studies have shown that walking before breakfast, within one hour of waking, burns off more fat than a walk after a meal. A walk after a meal aids digestion. Even a 10 minute walk after dinner can lower blood glucose spikes resulting from over eating and it will also help you to sleep. Streets goes through them all, explaining the who, what, when, where, why, and how of each kind of walk. A surprisingly high number of studies have been done on walking and its benefits. I do wonder how much we can take from a study of a group of 60 walkers (many of the studies referenced include less than 100 participants), but a lot of the things she claims make sense. If you walk in the morning, it can help you wake up. If you walk in the evening after dinner, it can help you sleep better. It makes sense, right? 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

How to Use the Book

Terpenes are the trees’ own immune system,” says Streets, “and when you walk underneath them you breathe that self-protection mechanism. There are studies showing that the blood pressure of people walking under evergreens was significantly lower than that of the people walking in a control group.” Just because many of us have been walking for most of our lives doesn’t mean we’re doing it in the best way. So what is the healthiest way to walk? I spoke to Annabel Streets, author of 52 Ways to Walk: The Surprising Science of Walking for Wellness and Joy, One Week at a Time. Work is the obvious one, so I actually bought myself a walking desk, which is like a treadmill, but it’s got a desk bit on the front … And you can just work while your legs are moving, and I’ve found that really beneficial in so many ways. With hearing, I was fascinated to discover some of the science behind the sounds we hear so the most relaxing sound for most people is actually the sound of water … but the most uplifting sound is actually birdsong.” I was most touched by the end of the book when the author states that this was her love letter to walking, and a tribute to her father who refused to drive, and who also passed away while she wrote the book.

Under the name Annabel Streets, which she uses for her practical nonfiction, she is co-author of The Age Well Project. She is also the author of the novels The Joyce Girl and Miss Eliza’s English Kitchen.An inspiring guide to walking each week of the year, with 52 science-based essays on how, when, where and why to do it. I’d urge you not to do that – you could get hit by a car! And you can’t hear the birdsong. A study found that people who lived in cities had their mood lifted by birdsong. Also, what happens to your body when you look out at the horizon? Your stress level drops, the cortisol falls. It’s why we love views. Annabel Streets is searching for a conifer. It is a bright, early March day and we are looping around the gardens of Fulham Palace in southwest London. She spots what she is looking for: a large spreading yew tree. We stand looking up at the clusters of leathery, spiked leaves and breathe deeply. “Every day I stand under an evergreen tree now,” she says. “I have become obsessed with terpenes.”