Walking Changes The Brain And Relieves Depression

When you suffer from depression, your world progresses at a different rate than at other times. When your brain goes through this process, you are much less active than usual, and you make fewer nerve connections.

A study by the University of Illinois describes an amygdala (a structure that is the ruler of human emotions) that functions at a much lower level when a person has depression. This structure has a very clear function: to force you to focus on your own self. When you act at a lower level, you can better enable and understand your own inner world, and thus you can better come up with solutions for it.

However, this is not an easy thing to do.  Depression cannot be cured in the same way as, for example, the flu or infection. In order to overcome this disease, you need to approach the problem from a different perspective than for other types of health problems.

First, if your doctor recommends it to you, you can take medication backed by appropriate therapy to help you. Neurologists, on the other hand, approach this process by considering something known as neuroplasticity of neurons, i.e., brain ductility.

Experiencing new stimuli and new sensations — when they are intense and relevant — can “reactivate” a person’s nerve connections. As simple as going out for a walk every day can be very therapeutic.

This time, we’ll talk in more detail about how walking relieves depression.  This is an important thing that is definitely worth keeping in mind!

If you suffer from depression, don’t forget to go for a walk!

Scott Langenecker, a psychiatrist at the University of Illinois, explains that one of the factors that often causes depression to break out is “chewing things up”.

People have certain times in their lives when we become obsessed with negative or fatalistic thoughts. This is as if endless abstinence. Negative thoughts pile up on top of each other until you finally create a fatalistic emotional level process that makes you fall into your own black hole.

Routines, living in small spaces, and even being with a lot of the same people can make this “chewing things up” more intense.

Depression can also be much more common in urban environments than in small localities or villages where nature is closer to people.

• However, it is not always the case that you could just leave everything behind and go to life in the mountains.  However, you need to find moments for yourself in order to connect with nature.
• If you suffer from depression, or even if you don’t, go for a walk every day in the park, forest or beach. Choose any green area where you can easily walk.

Next, we’ll describe what you’ll notice in just a few days of starting your walking routine.

Your mood changes

When you exercise a little, even if it’s just a half-hour walk, your brain releases endorphins. 

• Endorphins interact with receptors in your brain to relieve your perception of sadness, negativity, and even pain.
• As neurologists are able to clarify, endorphins provide enjoyable sensations that many call “runner drunk”.

• It is a positive and energizing emotion that causes a break in obsessive and fatalistic thinking. It forces you to look at many things from the right perspective.

It promotes nerve cell connections

As we said earlier, there is a connection between nerve cell connectivity and depression. It is an interesting fact that moderate but regular exercise can improve the functioning of the human brain.

This means that the result of movement is astounding things in many ways.

• First, it has been shown that a phenomenon called neurogenesis creates new brain cells.
• The balance of human heartbeats increases, the brain receives more oxygen, and in addition, this contributes to a more pleasant, positive, and motivating action of neurochemicals.

• All of this “chemistry” within the body then creates new cells as well as promotes stronger nerve connections.

However, these benefits do not appear immediately on the first or second walk, and therefore you should be consistent with your daily walking routine.

So take a walk, say, for half an hour every day, and remember that these moments are all about you – that time is all set for you.

These are moments of pleasure.

Walking increases creativity

You may now be wondering how in a miracle creativity can be fostered when a person is depressed. Believe it or not, the awesome effect we describe promotes healing, and it will help you see the path to a more positive recovery ahead of you.

Walking relaxes. Every step you take and every breath you take that brings oxygen to you  stimulates the activity of your brain.

• In these moments when you get in touch with yourself and your own well-being, very many things get your head inside surprisingly in the right proportions. Then you start thinking about new things.
• Positive thinking is a great way to break those little chains that will trap you in your depressed state.
• It’s possible that when you go for a walk, you get new ideas. This creativity is not necessarily one that is artistic. We’ve talked about personal authenticity in the past, helping you snag out of that black hole where you’ll find yourself depressed.
• Of course, overcoming depression is not an easy thing to do. But think like this: a dream, a project, a desire, and then finally a decision that will one day appear and change everything.

It’s really worth it to make this little change in your life. Walking relieves depression, so go out and walk, and let your brain begin to heal slowly. And of course, even if you are not sick and suffer from depression, regular walking is also a great way to prevent getting sick.