Walking to Music?

Do you listen to music while you walk?  I sometimes do and have spotted many fellow walkers with their earphones in too as they stride purposefully in parks or on country roads.  But is this a good thing to do? Let’s look at the advantages and disadvantages of walking to music.

The advantages of music while you walk

Remember the seven dwarves singing “Whistle while you work”?  Well they were certainly advocating that music helps productivity.  As you walk to the beat of music, it can definitely help to add an extra inch to your step, increase your pace and help you to walk in rhythm.  Songs like the Proclaimers “I’m gonna walk 500 miles” is a real encourager to walk and at the end of a long hard walk, Gloria Gaynor’s “I will survive” may help to get you to the finish line.  Indeed sometimes I have even been known to sing along (quietly) to a few Abba numbers like Mamma Mia, SOS or Waterloo as I walk purposefully around Lurgan Park.

Studies have shown that music can help you become more determined and more focused on any given task.  Music causes the brain to release dopamine, a brain chemical that assists in regulating motivation and goal-oriented behaviour.  Songs like Queen’s “Don’t stop me now” or Europe’s “The final countdown” will certainly do this.

The disadvantages of music while you walk

While listening to music may help you to keep walking, it does mean that you miss out on the sounds of your walk especially if you are walking in nature.  This could be the sound of gentle waves on the beach, the moo of a cow or birds singing.  A recent study, led by the Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology and Neuroscience at King’s College London, has shown that seeing or hearing birds can drastically improve our mental health.  By popping your headphones in, you will miss out on the benefits of the sounds of nature.

Of course, if you are walking with a friend, please don’t listen to music as it is a great opportunity to catch up on their news as you “walk and talk”.  Equally headphones and country roads don’t go well together as you need to listen out for approaching traffic in case you need to jump onto a grass verge to avoid a car or being splashed by a puddle.

Overall, I think music has its place when walking but it depends on where you are and what sort of mood you are in.  You could turn Spotify off when you are on the beach or if you are somewhere with lots of birds who are singing sweetly.  But if you are valiantly trying to get your steps up by strolling around the perimeter of a football field, music may be the answer to keep your motivation levels up to do that extra lap.

So what do you think?  Are you a musical walker or do you listen to the sounds of the birds?  If you walk to music, what are your favourite songs to help you walk faster? Let me know in the comments below please.