TikTok's "Silent Walking" Trend Is The Perfect Stress-Reliever

While there’s always a time and a place for a hot girl walk — complete with the perfect playlist turned all the way up — sometimes the day calls for something a little more peaceful, relaxing, and, well, quiet. That’s the appeal of the silent walking trend on TikTok. Instead of stomping around with your headphones in, the idea is to stroll in silence so you can relax and tap into your thoughts.

The silent walk, coined by TikTok creator Mady Maio, is quickly becoming the next big walking trend. At first, the idea of walking in silence might seem like cruel and unusual punishment, but Maio swears you not only get used to being alone with your own thoughts, you actually start to enjoy it.

In her video, which now has over 450,000 views, Maio talked about making the switch from intense cardio workouts to gentler, 30-minute daily strolls. According to her TikTok, Maio’s boyfriend challenged her to go out for her first walk without music or a podcast, and even though her anxiety was screaming no, she went ahead and tried it anyway.

Maio noted that the first two minutes were “mayhem” as her brain adjusted to the silence, but then she somehow switched into a flow state. Now, the creator goes for regular silent walks as a way to relax, de-stress, and tap into her thoughts — and it looks like she’s officially started a movement.

According to Denise Chakoian, a certified personal trainer and founder of CORE Cycle.Fitness.Lagree, there’s a reason why silent walks are striking a chord. “Silence can be our best medicine,” she tells Bustle, especially when it comes to stress and anxiety. A silent walk is the perfect way to take a break from the deluge of information that’s constantly streaming in from emails, texts, podcasts, and playlists so you can simply ~exist~ instead.

It’s also a form of moving meditation, which can help you relax. “If we always have something or someone to listen to, then we never get to listen to ourselves or feel what we are feeling,” Chakoian tells Bustle. As you get into the habit of waltzing around without your headphones in, you’ll notice that you feel extra grounded, present, and at peace with yourself.

You might even suss out a problem or two. As Maio noted in her video, she’s noticed that her brain fog lifts whenever she takes silent walks, and amazing ideas start to flow her way, all because she gave herself a chance to think.

As a bonus, walks are always going to be one of the best low-impact workouts you can do, Chakoian says. If you aren’t feeling the gym — or aren’t a fan of intense HIIT workouts in general, like Maio — then a silent stroll could feel just right.

Creator @brieanabanks is one of many who hopped on the silent walking trend. She’s been sharing her silent morning walks, which she takes as a way to spend time with her dog and to get her steps in — and they honestly look so peaceful.

On the flip side, creator @aimeejfit said she’s also drawn to silent walks, but admitted in her video that she’s a chronic headphone wearer, podcast listener, and audio message sender who’s in need of constant stimulation. For her, walking without a distraction was anxiety-inducing, so she took it as a sign that she needed to do it more often.

To move past your brain’s cries for dopamine as you walk without music, podcasts, or phone calls, Maio suggests starting off with five-minute silent walks and eventually building up to thirty minutes. If you’re usually a headphone wearer, it will feel super weird to walk without your go-to tunes, but give yourself a second to adjust. Chances are, once you’re a few minutes into your silent walk, you’ll also feel the magic kick in.

Studies referenced:

Matzer, F. (2018). Combining walking and relaxation for stress reduction-A randomized cross-over trial in healthy adults. Stress Health. doi: 10.1002/smi.2781.

Shi, L. (2019). A pilot study of mindful walking training on physical activity and health outcomes among adults with inadequate activity. Complement Ther Med. doi: 10.1016/j.ctim.2019.03.009.

Source:

Denise Chakoian, certified personal trainer, founder of CORE Cycle.Fitness.Lagree