I’ve never once regretted a walk.

I’ve regretted skipping the gym. I’ve regretted eating too many chips at our favorite Mexican restaurant.

I have never, not one time, laced up for a walk and thought halfway through, “This was a mistake.”

That’s the whole pitch, really.

Going for a walk really might be the answer for almost anything.

But I wanted to know if that was all in my head, or if there’s actually something to it. Turns out there’s a lot to it.

The Science Part

Walking has been called one of the closest things to a wonder drug that exercise science has found, which sounds like bullsh*t until you look at what it’s actually doing to your body.

Start with your heart. Adults who consistently walk somewhere between 6,000 and 9,000 steps a day can cut their risk of a cardiovascular event by as much as half after age 60. One recent study found that people who were the least active could add nearly 11 years to their life expectancy just by adding about 111 minutes of walking to their week.

Then there’s your brain, which might be the more interesting story. Researchers at Stanford found that walking can boost creative output by as much as 60% compared to sitting still, and the theory is that it has to do with the way walking increases blood flow to the brain.

That tracks with something I’ve noticed myself. My best ideas rarely show up at my desk. They show up when I’m out taking a lap around the neighborhood.

Your mood gets a hand too. Regular walking is associated with reduced symptoms of anxiety and low mood over time, and for a lot of people it functions like a moving meditation.

Walking outside (as opposed to indoors on a treadmill) specifically seems to matter. A 2019 study found that just 20 minutes in nature meaningfully lowered stress hormones in participants.

What People Actually Say About Why They Walk

The science is one thing. But ask real people why they walk, and you rarely get “cardiovascular health” as the answer. You get something closer to the truth.

You get the guy who walks because it’s the only part of his day nobody needs anything from him.

You get the mom who walks because it’s the one conversation she can have without little ears three feet away.

You get the person walking laps around the block at 11 p.m. because sitting with the problem inside the house wasn’t working, and walking with it outside somehow was the difference maker.

And plenty of people use walking as a place to have a private conversation.

Getting Your Steps is a Perfect Excuse

Perhaps this is the real case for walking.

It’s socially acceptable to disappear for thirty minutes if you say you’re “getting your steps in.”

Nobody questions it. But what you’re actually doing in those thirty minutes might be soaking up a podcast, might be figuring out how to leave a job, might be nothing at all — and that’s the point.

It’s one of the only places left where doing nothing in particular is not only allowed, it’s backed by science.

So if you’re stuck on something today — a decision, an idea, a conversation you’ve been avoiding — you can let it nag you.

Or you could go for a walk.

I doubt you’ll regret it.