I have spent years studying a very simple exercise. This is exactly how you can use it to help your immune system, stress and asthma: ANNABEL STREETS

Where do you like to walk? Do you ever find yourself longing for a particular landscape or place? I do.

I have yearned for rivers, cemeteries, starlit fields, often returning from my walks feeling changed: some places seemed to intensify my emotions, while others calmed me.

And having previously written a book about the health benefits of walking, it struck me that where I walked might also affect me, subtly influencing my thoughts and mood.

There is no doubt that walking itself helps us mentally and physically – moving causes the body and brain to produce a cascade of chemicals so powerfully life‑enhancing that scientists now call them ‘hope molecules’.

These include pain-alleviating endocannabinoids, which induce mild sedation and feelings of euphoria, reduce inflammation and improve memory.

Scientists have also discovered other ‘hope molecules’ released when we exercise, such as lactate. Once considered a waste product that causes sore muscles, it is now thought to be potentially preventative against Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s. Lactate also triggers production of histone lactylation, a chemical that may counter infection and cancer.

The idea of our health being connected to the landscape isn’t new: the earliest Chinese cities included plenty of greenery and water to aid healing, and medieval European hospitals were sited within the cloistered, herbal gardens of convents.

Early 20th-century model ‘garden cities’, such as Letchworth, were also thought to improve health and happiness.

Having previously written a book about the health benefits of walking, it struck me that where I walked might also affect me, subtly influencing my thoughts and mood, writes Annabel Streets

But recently, environmental psychologists and neuroscientists have started using scan technology to understand why places affect us.

A pioneering paper by the National Trust and the University of Surrey in 2017 found three brain regions registered powerful responses to landscape, all involved in emotional processing and memory.

One of the most astonishing discoveries of the past year is that walking among trees and plants actually changes us at a cellular level by lengthening our telomeres; shortening of these protective caps found on the end of our chromosomes leads to illnesses including cancer and Alzheimer’s.

Here are some of the fascinating ways that walking in different landscapes can affect our bodies.

FORESTS AND WOODLAND

BENEFITS FOR: Immune function, blood pressure, stress and sleep.

Forest bathing [being calm and quiet among the trees, and observing nature while breathing deeply] may have potential preventive effects on depression (file image)

Japanese researchers were the first to identify the extraordinary effects of woodland on human health, which include boosted immunity – amplifying the number of ‘natural killer’ immune cells with anti-cancer properties – and reducing blood pressure, heart rate and levels of stress hormones.

More recently, a study of 20 men in their 50s found that four hours of walking in a forest ‘significantly increased levels of serotonin’ (the ‘happiness’ hormone) when compared to walking in a city.

The researchers noted: ‘Forest bathing [being calm and quiet among the trees, and observing nature while breathing deeply] may have potential preventive effects on depression.’ While the clean air and visual interest of a forest play a part, the compounds that trees produce to protect themselves – phytoncides – have this big effect.

Walking in a forest (‘dynamic forest bathing’) brings even greater benefits. In one recent study where participants took either hour-long forest walks or hour-long ‘sits’, the walkers saw significantly greater improvements in their mood.

Can’t sleep? A two-hour afternoon walk in a wood improved the sleep of 71 insomniacs in a 2005 experiment, improving its duration and quality.

SHORELINES

BENEFITS FOR: Asthma, dementia and cancer.

Inhaling certain chemicals yielded by sea air could even help rid our bodies of the damaged cells that form brain plaques found in Alzheimer’s, writes Annabel Streets (pictured)

Coastal air includes minuscule droplets of seawater, which is rich in iodine, magnesium, calcium and potassium.

Some scientists believe these minerals soothe the lining of our respiratory system, relieving symptoms of asthma and stimulating the immune system to clear waste from our lungs. Studies of patients with lung disease have found that spells of breathing ocean air resulted in less coughing and improved lung function.

Inhaling certain chemicals yielded by sea air could even help rid our bodies of the damaged cells that form brain plaques found in Alzheimer’s.

Marine scientist Michael Moore believes the chemical make-up of sea air eases the effects of inflammation, a known factor in cardiovascular disease, depression, dementia and many cancers.

Pharmaceutical companies are now investigating yessotoxin, a molecule produced by plankton, which appears to reduce melanoma cells in mice, as an anti-cancer drug.

RURAL ROADS

BENEFITS FOR: Anxiety, depression, memory, sleep and bones.

Lane walking gives the best of both worlds: with rhythmic, non-strenuous walks that are still in the natural landscape

Lane walking (such as on rural roads) is beneficial because as well as offering a treasury of wildlife and plants on the verges, it involves moving with speed and rhythm – rhythmic movement can be beneficial for alleviating anxiety and depression according to a Polish study from 2004.

More recently, studies of older people have found such movement improves not only physical health (muscle strength, balance and flexibility) but quality of life.

Shane O’Mara, a neuroscientist at Trinity College Dublin, says the rhythm of walking induces ‘rhythms in the brain’, in particular theta brainwaves that enhance ability to learn and remember.

Research shows that brisk walking reduces our risk of cancer, heart disease, dementia, osteoporosis and death, and may also improve sleep and mood.

That’s because it releases brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF), a protein that promotes the growth of new nerve cells and connections in the brain. The brisker the movement, the more BDNF we produce.

In recent years, new evidence has shown that walking not only prevents bone loss, but it can also fortify ageing bones. However, it must be fast – 6.3kmph (4mph) – and last 40 to 45 minutes, a study by Dr Katarina Borer, a professor of movement science in the US, found.

ROLLING HILLS

BENEFITS FOR: Eye strain, heart disease, waistline, balance and bones.

Walking up an incline forces our body to move against gravity, working our heart and lungs harder. We also use different muscles, including those in our core and lower back

Speeding up then slowing down – which is exactly what happens when we puff our way up and down hills – is particularly effective at promoting a flood of beneficial chemicals in our body, while also then giving us pause to recover.

And stopping to survey the panorama before us, after heaving to the top of a hill, is also excellent for tired, screen-bound eyes.

When we spend hours ‘focused on close-up objects – computers, screens, phones – the eye muscles and nerves that control them are working hard,’ exacerbating near-sightedness (myopia), according to US neuroscientist and ophthalmologist Andrew Huberman. He urges us to ‘view far-off distances throughout the day – beyond 3ft out to infinity.’

Hill climbing also has powerful benefits for the heart. When a team of US medics analysed stair-climbing data from more than 450,000 people over 12 years, they found the number of daily upwards steps was linked to a reduced risk of coronary artery disease or having a stroke. People who climbed over 50 steps a day (the equivalent of hiking a few short inclines), cut their chances of heart disease by 20 per cent.

Walking up an incline forces our body to move against gravity, working our heart and lungs harder. We also use different muscles, including those in our core and lower back – making a hill walk good for our waistline, sense of balance and lower spine.

Dr Borer also found that both fast and downhill walking brought a marked improvement in bone-mineral density.

CITY STROLLING

BENEFITS FOR: Stress, fatigue.

Walking through a city’s historic quarters prompts profound feelings of calm

Urban landscapes can also bring benefits. In 2017, Spanish researchers investigated the effects of walking in ‘the built environment’, comparing a square full of greenery and one containing scant greenery but with bars, shops and a church.

Forty-six tired, stressed participants were surveyed before, during and after walking for 30 minutes around one of the squares.

Both groups demonstrated improved concentration, greater happiness and reduced tension, anxiety, anger and fatigue. But surprisingly, those in the more built-up square reported higher energy levels and a much greater reduction in stress than those in the abundantly green square.

Other studies have since found walking through a city’s historic quarters prompts profound feelings of calm.

In fact, research using brain scans suggests that temples, churches, courtyards and beautiful contemporary buildings are particularly adept at rewiring our brains, making us feel ‘connected, appreciative and yet relaxed… in a meditative state induced by contemplative architecture’, the journal Frontiers of Architectural Research reported in 2017.