Silent walk: trend on TikTok

This text was written by a TecMundo columnist; Learn more at the end.

“silent walk“ The simple practice of walking silently is a viral trend on social network TikTok. Without speaking. There is no screen. Without music. There are no distractions. Just time alone with our thoughts. Internal voices inside our heads. A space of freedom and reflection. How do you feel about this? Excited or scared?

The Stoics already valued activity as an opportunity to listen to ourselves, and perhaps no activity is more connected to our evolution than walking step by step. Seneca, one of the greatest philosophers of Stoicism, was also a follower of this practice: “We should take walks outdoors so that our minds can be nourished and refreshed by breathing deeply in the open air.”

Discover the trend

Mady Maio, one of the phenomena who seems to have started the trend, described her experiences as follows: silent walk. What started with her nutritionist’s advice to walk 30 minutes a day instead of more intense cardio workouts became stronger when her boyfriend challenged her to walk without distraction: “no headphones, no podcasts, no music, just me and me,” according to Maio.

According to her, at first she thought it would be worse for her anxiety but decided to try it. The first two minutes were mental chaos, but after those two minutes something happened: “Your brain goes into a flow state, everything becomes quiet and you can hear yourself.”

After a 30-minute walk, he had the clarity of ideas he had always wanted: “I solved a strange situation that I had been thinking about for a long time in my head,” and yet he allowed space for new ideas to flourish, a clear reference to increased creativity.

Some people criticize that a single march is so revolutionary these days, but we’re there. We are inundated with stimuli and content, connected 24/7, and just 2% of that time seems like a lot.

Despite the criticism, we enjoy it. First, to think about how rare moments like this are, and second, to put it into practice.

Are the effects of the influencer’s self-report scientifically proven? Learn more about the science of walking.

4 benefits of walking

Walking reduces rumination

Researchers randomly assigned people to take a 30-minute rumination-related walk in nature or in the city and found that exercise reduced ruminative thoughts, but only in those who walked in nature. Humor also exhibits the same behavior, “it develops in those who do what we say”green exercise” (in free translation: green exercise).

Walking creates more creativity

“Give your ideas some support”was the creative title of a study exploring creativity through walking. Researchers at Stanford University conducted a series of experiments with students and found that walking on a treadmill both indoors and outdoors increased creativity; showed that it is not the environment but the walking activity that is important.

Walking improves mental health

In more recent research, environment was important. Researchers asked 63 people in Germany to walk for 1 hour, 32 in nature and 31 in urban environments. They took an MRI to see the activation of the brain’s amygdala.

Stimulation of the amygdala can lead to a state of increased alertness or attention, anxiety, and fear. Amygdala activation decreased after walking in nature, but remained stable after walking in an urban environment.

Walking makes you live longer

Science has extensively studied the number of steps and its relationship with death. We see more benefits from taking more steps a day, but we don’t need to walk 10,000 steps a day as previously recommended. Walking can enable the free flow of ideas; It can be a simple and effective solution to increase idea generation, physical activity and therefore your health.

May suggests starting with just 5 minutes and working up to 30 minutes. The most important thing is to give yourself the gift of walking quietly and listening to their whispers. Physical exercise can be viewed as a form of “meditation in motion.” Especially if there is a combination of exercise, nature and meditation.

How about enjoying your own company step by step? Try it, you are unlikely to regret going there!

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Fábio Dominski He holds a PhD in Human Movement Sciences and a degree in Physical Education from Santa Catarina State University (UDESC). He is a university professor and researcher at the Laboratory of Sport and Exercise Psychology (LAPE/CEFID/UDESC). He is the author of the book Exercising Físico e Ciência – Fatos e Mitos and hosts the program Exercising Físico e Ciência on UDESC joinville radio (91.9 FM); in the program Available as a podcast on Spotify.