In Praise of Walking

In Praise of Walking, by Trinity College Dublin neuroscientist Shane O'Mara, is a scientific case for walking as one of the most powerful and underrated things a person can do for body and brain. O'Mara traces walking's evolutionary origins across hundreds of millions of years and explains the neuroscience of how the brain coordinates balance, spatial navigation, and movement through a busy environment, describing the brain's internal GPS system used to explore and remember spaces. He then details walking's measurable benefits: protecting joints and organs, slowing brain aging, boosting creative thinking, improving mood, and lowering stress, alongside its historical and social role as a shared activity that has helped bind human groups together. The book closes with a call to counteract increasingly sedentary modern life by reclaiming walking as a daily practice, whether for a commute, an errand, or a deliberate walk in nature. It's written for a general audience interested in the neuroscience of everyday movement and in practical, low-cost ways to support cognitive and physical health.