Want to be more productive? Go for a walk and give your brain a rest.

Ever wonder why you feel bogged down and overloaded?  

Much can be attributed to increased automation and technology taking over the mundane and boring tasks.  This means that more and more we are left only with the complex issues. Whereas before we had processes to work through to help arrive at these decisions, giving us time to absorb and reflect, now we are left increasingly with the more complex tasks and decisions, one after the other.

 Mulling things over, reflecting, finding time to “peruse” seem to be fast receding activities.  Dr Theo Compernolle in his book Brain Chains talks about the archiving part of the brain and the need for quiet and “down” time to allow the essential filing, sorting and storing of information, thoughts, ideas and creativity to take place.  

The problem is that we are so busy dealing with the relentless demands for our time and attention that we aren’t able to let this part of the brain work.  Good restful sleep and decent quantities of it is the key –  8 hours – but how many manage this night after night?  

Try walking more to help;  not just for thinking and problem solving but for general health benefits too.   

Walking 30 minutes a day for five days of the week can lead to a reduction in coronary heart disease risk of 19 per cent.  It helps increase HDL (good cholesterol).  It can help reduce weight, lower blood pressure, increase serotonin (feel-good chemicals) which all lead to an improved feeling of well-being.

Walking improves the memory. Lead researcher Dr Kirk Erickson, from the University of Pittsburgh, found that walking not only increased the size of the brain but also reversed the participants’s age clocks.  

·         If you can’t take 30 minutes out in one session, split it into two

·         Get off the bus or tube one stop before your normal stop

·         Park further away from the supermarket entrance

·         Diary in your walk into your phone and set the alarm

·         Team up with someone else to help you keep to your resolve

·         But most importantly – switch off all gadgets, devices and mobiles.  

Walking to exercise also gives your brain an all important rest. Unless you switch off your IT and disconnect mentally, you are only going out for a change of scenery.  You can use Googlemaps if all you want is a different view.

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