Walking Through Midlife

Midlife often brings change. Whether it's menopause, an empty nest, a career transition, caring for aging parents, or simply wondering what comes next, this season of life can feel both exciting and uncertain.

In this episode we explore how walking can help us navigate life's transitions. We'll look at the science behind walking and mental well-being, the role movement can play during menopause, why walking may help spark creative thinking during periods of reinvention, and how a simple walk can provide space to reflect during times of change.

Walking won't solve every challenge we face in midlife. But it can offer something many of us need: time, perspective, clarity, and a way to keep moving forward—one step at a time.

I'll also officially introduce a new project inspired by this community and the many walking stories you've shared over the years.

Link to Resources Mentioned

As always, I'd love to hear from you.

What transition are you navigating right now, and how does walking help you move through it?

Check out WhyWalkingMatters.com Blog and become a subscriber for weekly walking tips! Share Your Walking Story Listen on YouTube 

Email us at: Kaydoscope@gmail.com to share topics you'd like to learn about.

Transcript

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SPEAKER_00 0:06

Welcome to Why Walking Matters, The Science Explained. I'm your host, Tatiana. If you're a loyal listener, welcome back and thanks for walking with me. If you're a new listener, welcome to the podcast, where we explore the science behind one of the simplest and most powerful things we can do for health, walk. Before we get started, you may have noticed that there wasn't a new episode last week. For the first time since launching the podcast, I missed a week. But the reason is a good one. I spent last week doing a lot of walking through a city I'd never visited before, London. And as much as I wanted to record ahead, I decided to give myself permission to step away for a few days and to simply enjoy the experience. And believe me, London is a wonderful city for walking. So thank you for your patience. I'm happy to be back. And today's topic feels like the perfect one to return with because we're talking about navigating life's transitions and changes and how walking can help us find our way through them. Today I want to talk about something many of us experience but don't always talk about openly: midlife. It's a season of change. For some it's menopause, for others, it's becoming an empty nester, maybe changing careers, it could be caring for aging parents, or wondering what comes next after years of doing what was expected of us. And I apologize for my voice as I navigate the changing seasons. Midlife can feel exciting, it can feel confusing, overwhelming, it can even feel liberating and all at the same time. Because walking isn't just exercise, it's a tool for many things, including navigating change. So today, let's talk about walking through midlife. We've all heard the phrase midlife crisis. Google defines a midlife crisis as a psychological transition of identity and self-doubt that typically occurs in individuals between the ages of forty and sixty-five. Signs and symptoms include emotional distress that can manifest as mood swings, anxiety, depression, or a deep sense of emptiness. It can show up as sudden dramatic changes in habits, like reckless spending or withdrawing from normal routines and relationships. People find themselves often re-evaluating their life choices. They may confront the reality of aging and the remaining years, that there are fewer remaining years. Children are growing up and leaving home. And people may begin to realize that their current work no longer fulfills earlier dreams or expectations. But what if midlife isn't a crisis at all? What if it's a transition? Think about how much can change during this period of life. Our bodies, our families, our careers can change. Sometimes our priorities change. The life we built in our twenties, thirties, and forties may no longer fit the person we're becoming. And that's not failure, it's growth. The challenge is that transitions can be uncomfortable. Leaving one chapter behind while trying to understand the next. And that's where walking can help. Because walking gives us something steady when everything else feels uncertain. One step, then another, then another. And we've been doing it our entire lives. Many people first notice these changes through their bodies. And for women especially, one of the biggest transitions of midlife is menopause. If you've listened to recent episodes, you've heard me talk with guests about menopause and women's health. And season one, episode thirty-nine explored the science behind walking and menopause. So if you haven't yet, be sure to check that out. For many women, menopause brings changes that can feel frustrating and unfamiliar. Changes to sleep habits, changes to their energy, body composition changes, mood changes. It may feel like the rules have suddenly changed. But the good news is that walking remains one of the most accessible and effective forms of physical activity during this stage of life. Walking supports cardiovascular health, it helps to maintain mobility, and it can help to manage stress. And perhaps most importantly, it's something many women can continue doing consistently even when motivation fluctuates. Not every day has to be a power walk. Sometimes the win is simply showing up. Some days walking is about fitness, but other days it's about preserving your sanity, and believe me, both count. Plus, the science supports it. From a research published in PubMed, can walking exercise programs improve health for women in menopause transition and postmenopausal? Researchers reviewed 3,244 papers and isolated 96 articles representing 77 unique walking programs. Out of these, 91% of the walking programs led to a positive, measurable benefit in at least one menopause-related medical issue or biological risk factor. The studied walking interventions ranged in length from four weeks to three years, maintaining an average frequency of three point eight walks per week. Walking was shown to positively influence biological markers, cardiovascular risk factors, metabolism, and physical and mental well-being. Interestingly, the review noted that while general wellness and health markers improved, direct data on specific typical menopause symptoms, such as hot flashes and severe sleep disruptions, were surprisingly scarce across the literature. The authors concluded that while walking is an excellent wellness strategy, more targeted clinical research is needed to determine its precise therapeutic impact on these specific symptoms. That was a 2020 study, by the way. So why does walking work for menopause? Walking serves as an ideal midlife intervention because it carries a low risk of injury, it costs nothing, and it directly addresses the metabolic deceleration and cardiovascular changes that can occur or that occur as estrogen levels drop. If you're walking to alleviate menopause symptoms, it's recommended that an effective routine focus on three core health outcomes: cardiovascular and metabolic health, mental and social well-being, and weight and fitness management. For cardiovascular and metabolic health, regular relaxed walking increases insulin sensitivity, reducing the risk of midlife diabetes. Brisk walking, which is walking at a faster pace, triggers the release of growth hormones which assist in tissue and bone preservation. An interesting article from the University of Michigan. Postmenopausal walking speeds trigger different health effects. Postmenopausal women who walk for exercise may achieve different health goals depending on their walking speeds, according to a pilot study from the University of Michigan Division of Kinesiology. Most people, including healthcare providers, have assumed that if a woman is in reasonably good health, the harder or faster she exercises, the better off she will be, says Katerina Borer, professor of kinesiology and principal investigator on the study. However, the clinical patterns in our preliminary findings suggest that women who walk for exercise may achieve their individual health goals more effectively by walking at a targeted pace that triggers a particular physiological response. The study sample was small and more research is required, but our findings to date are intriguing and of interest to professionals in women's health, she added. The eight-month study included nine women ages 50 to 65 who were in good health, but sedentary before the study began. Their average weight was 165 pounds. The women walked 3 miles a day for a total of 15 miles a week for 8 months. Insulin and growth hormone levels were measured at the beginning, midpoint, and end of the study along with body fat and total weight. Borer found that after 8 months, those who walked at a slower 18 to 20 minute a mile pace became more insulin sensitive. Good news for those at risk of diabetes. The sensitivity to insulin tapered off, however, as walking speed increased among the brisk 15 minute a mile walkers, bad news for those at risk for diabetes. On the other hand, Boris said, the brisk walkers secreted more pulsatile growth hormone, or GH. Growth hormone, which declines as we age, promotes bone and tissue formation, and helps reduce the effects of aging. The GH secretion levels of the slower, relaxed walkers actually declined over the course of the study. With GH, evidently, women must exercise at higher intensities or lose GH as they age. The brisk walkers lost slightly more weight overall than the slower walkers, but the difference was minimal. More notably, the slower walkers lost slightly more body fat compared with the brisk walkers. Why did the slower walkers lose more body fat? Because they were walking at an aerobic pace where after the first twenty minutes, muscles, with the help of oxygen, oxidize fat as well as carbohydrates or explained. The brisk walkers were moving at a speedy anaerobic pace where muscles are not getting enough oxygen to oxidize fat and must therefore rely on metabolizing carbohydrates. When it comes to mental and social well-being, associated focus group data indicates that walking programs succeed best when they are flexible and incorporate a social or community element, helping to manage the mood swings and anxiety frequently reported during the menopausal transition. And for weight and fitness management, walking programs help to combat postmenopausal fat redistribution, maintain cardiovascular endurance, and preserve lower body muscle strength. And for that one, there's a 2023 research that looks at the perceptions, benefits, and use of complementary and integrative therapies to treat menopausal symptoms. And one of those includes walking, of course. And as always, listeners, links to all the research studies or articles used in the podcast can be found in the podcast description or show notes. So, listeners, if you're navigating the complexities of menopause and you're thinking, my body doesn't respond the way it used to, the science supports the fact that walking helps to support physical and mental health during the menopausal transition. But midlife isn't only about changes in our bodies. Sometimes it's our homes that begin to feel different. For years, life may have revolved around our children, school schedules, sports practices, family responsibilities. Then one day the house is quieter, the routines disappear. The role you've played for years begins to change. Many parents describe this period as both joyful and bittersweet. Walking can create space to process those feelings. A walk provides time to reflect, to grieve in some way what has ended, and appreciate what was and imagine what comes next. Because an empty nest isn't just about children leaving, it's also about rediscovering yourself. Who are you now? What interests have been waiting patiently for your attention? What dreams have been sitting on the shelf? These are wonderful questions to take on a walk. Walking supports mental well-being, stress management, and emotional health. But sometimes the biggest changes aren't happening at home. They may be happening at work. Midlife is often a time of professional reflection. Maybe you're seeking a promotion or thinking of changing careers. Maybe you're considering retirement. Or perhaps you're asking yourself a question many people ask in midlife, is this still what I want? These questions rarely get answered while staring at a computer screen, but they often become clearer while walking. There's something about movement that helps us think differently. Many of us have had moments where an idea suddenly appears during a walk. A problem becomes simpler, a decision might become clearer, and a path forward begins to emerge. You don't always find the answer, but walking can help you ask better questions. And sometimes that may be what you need. A 2014 study published in PubMed Give Your Ideas Some Legs, the Positive Effect of Walking on Creative Thinking, asked the question: Does walking make people more creative? The researchers wanted to know whether the simple act of walking could improve creative thinking, particularly the ability to generate new ideas. I've referenced this article before, so for my loyal listeners, my apologies if it sounds repetitive. But for new listeners, across four experiments involving college students and adults, participants completed creativity tasks while sitting indoors, walking on a treadmill indoors, walking outdoors, and sitting after walking. The primary measure was the ability to generate multiple novel uses or solutions for an object or problem. It's called divergent thinking, and it's a common way psychologists assess creativity. There are four key findings. One, walking significantly boosted creative thinking. Participants produced substantially more creative ideas while walking than while sitting. In many cases, creativity increased by around 60% during walking conditions. Two, the effect occurred both indoors and outdoors. Walking on a treadmill improved creativity, suggesting the benefit wasn't solely due to being in nature or experiencing a new environment. The act of walking itself appeared to play an important role. 3. Some benefits remained after the walk. Participants often continued to perform better on creative tasks immediately after walking, indicating that the cognitive boost could persist beyond the walk itself. And four, walking helped idea generation, not necessarily idea selection. Walking improved the ability to come up with lots of ideas, but it did not consistently improve tasks requiring participants to identify a single correct answer. The benefit was strongest for brainstorming and creative exploration. So why does this matter? The findings suggest that walking may help the brain enter a more flexible, free-flowing mode of thinking. Rather than forcing creativity at a desk, movement appears to stimulate idea generation. So walking isn't just exercise for the body, it may also be a tool for solving problems, generating new ideas, breaking through mental blocks, processing life transitions, or finding clarity during midlife, career changes, or major decisions. But of course, midlife isn't only about our own lives. Many of us find ourselves caring for the people who once cared for us. Be one of the most emotionally challenging parts of midlife. Caring for aging parents. You're balancing work, family, your own health, and now the needs of aging parents. There can be worry, guilt, sadness, and often exhaustion. Walking won't eliminate those feelings, but it can create a place to process them, a place to breathe, to think, a place where for twenty or thirty minutes you can focus on yourself. Caregivers often spend so much time caring for everyone else that they forget they need care too. A walk can be a simple act of self-care, not selfish, necessary. Now there isn't great research specifically on walking while caring for aging parents, but there is strong evidence that caregivers often experience elevated stress, anxiety, depression, and reduced quality of life. Because caregiving can be physically and emotionally demanding, research shows caregivers frequently report higher levels of stress, anxiety, depression, and a reduced quality of life, which makes finding small moments of self-care especially important. In fact, a 2022 study in PubMed asked the question, does being an informal caregiver affect health? And one of the highlights of this study was that high burden caregivers generally experienced the poorest outcomes. Caregiving itself isn't necessarily harmful, but chronic stress, lack of support, and heavy caregiving demands can take a significant toll on health. Walking can offer caregivers a break from constant demands, it can offer stress relief, improved mood, and a sense of autonomy and personal time. It can also provide opportunities for reflection and recovery. A short daily walk won't remove caregiving challenges, but it may help to protect some of the mental health outcomes that this review found are most affected by caregiving. So, listeners, if you're experiencing life as a caregiver and you're feeling I'm caring for everyone else, the science shows that caregivers experience elevated stress, making self-care and movement particularly important. All of these experiences point toward a larger theme. Midlife isn't just about change, it's about reinvention. I think one of the biggest myths about change is that it arrives all at once. But this is not usually the case. Most reinvention happens gradually. One decision, one habit, one conversation, one walk, then another and another. Walking mirrors that process perfectly. You don't complete a journey in a single step. You complete it through thousands of small steps that eventually take you somewhere new. The same is true in life. You don't wake up one morning as a completely different person. You become that person over time. Midlife is often the season when we finally give ourselves permission to become who we're meant to be. And walking can be a companion on that journey. Here's our final study for today, a 2014 study that looked at whether physical activity improved mental health or if good mental health makes people more likely to be physically active. Researchers followed older adults over time to examine whether the relationship works in both directions. Researchers tracked participants from midlife into older age, measuring their physical activity levels and their mental health and psychological well-being. And what did they find? They found that those experiencing poor mental health were at greater risk of becoming inactive later on, and that people who were physically active were more likely to maintain better mental health in the future than those who were inactive. The findings suggest a feedback loop. Better mental health led to more physical activity, and more physical activity led to better mental health. This study is important because it shows that mental health is not just an outcome of physical activity, it is also a predictor of whether someone will stay active. That means motivation, mood, stress, anxiety, and psychological well-being can influence a person's ability to maintain an exercise habit, like walking. Walking can improve your mood, but this research suggests the relationship goes both ways. When our mental health is struggling, staying active becomes harder, and when we stop moving, our mental health can suffer. Walking may help create an upward spiral where movement supports well-being and well-being supports movement. On difficult days such as those we might encounter during midlife transitions, the goal doesn't have to be a perfect workout. A short walk may be enough to interrupt the cycle and start nudging both physical activity and mental health in a positive direction. This week I'd like to offer a simple challenge. Take a walk and ask yourself, what is changing in my life right now? Then ask, what is one small step I can take toward what's next? Not ten steps or a five-year plan, just one step. Because that's how walking works, and it's often how life works too. Before we wrap up today's episode, I want to share something I've been working on for quite a while. If you've listened to the podcast for any length of time, you've probably heard me ask a simple question. What's your walking story? Over the past year, I've come to realize that while we may walk for different reasons, the walks we remember most are usually connected to a story, a challenge we overcame, a turning point in our lives, a moment when something changed, or a journey that taught us something we didn't expect to learn. Those stories have inspired me to create something new called walking stories. Walking stories is a collection of short audio stories designed specifically for walkers. Each story is about 15 to 20 minutes long, perfect for a neighborhood walk, a lunch break, or what my guest Carol called an exercise snack. Some stories are about reinvention, some are about resilience, some are about unexpected adventures. But all of them are rooted in the idea that walking is about more than exercise. Sometimes a walk can help us to see our lives differently. You can find walking stories on whywalkingmatters.com, and I'll be sharing more details in the weeks ahead. For now, I simply wanted to officially introduce it and thank you for helping inspire it. Because without this community and all the stories you've shared along the way, it never would have happened. Midlife isn't the end of the story. For many people, it's the beginning of a new chapter. A chapter filled with growth, discovery, and a possibility. So wherever you find yourself today, navigating menopause, adjusting to an emptiness, caring for aging parents, changing careers, or simply wondering what's next. I hope you'll remember that you don't have to have everything figured out. You only need to take the next step. And sometimes the best place to take that step is on a walk. And remember, if you're enjoying this podcast, be kind. Share with a friend. You can also subscribe to receive free weekly newsletters in your box with science tips and walking challenges. Until next time, keep putting one foot in front of the other, stay curious, and keep walking.