A walk won't fix everything. But it might help today.

We've become rather obsessed with measuring everything.

Steps. Calories. Heart rates. Exercise minutes. Distances. Sleep scores.

You can barely walk to the shops these days without something strapped to your wrist deciding whether you've achieved anything worthwhile.

And while all that technology can be useful, there's another reason to go for a walk that doesn't always get the attention it deserves.

Sometimes life is just a bit much.

Work is getting on your nerves. Your phone won't stop going off. There's something worrying you that you can't quite put your finger on.

Or maybe you've simply spent the entire day sitting in the same room, staring at the same screen, thinking the same thoughts.

It's not always a dramatic mental-health crisis. Sometimes you're just fed up.

And sometimes, rather than searching for another productivity technique or downloading an application that promises to optimise your wellbeing, it might be worth putting your shoes on and going outside.

Not to hit a step target.

Not to burn off your lunch.

Just to go somewhere else for a bit.

A little space between you and everything else

One of the more useful things about walking is that it takes you away from whatever you've been doing.

This sounds painfully obvious, I appreciate.

But think about how much time we spend in the same environments.

At a desk. On the sofa. In the kitchen. Back at the desk. Perhaps another hour on the sofa scrolling through photographs of other people's apparently magnificent lives.

Sometimes the simple act of changing your surroundings can feel like a relief.

You notice the weather. The trees. Somebody's dog behaving like an absolute idiot.

You might find yourself paying attention to something other than whatever was bothering you ten minutes earlier.

That doesn't mean the problem has disappeared.

Your boss will probably still be an arse when you get back.

But you may feel a little better equipped to deal with things.

NHS guidance recognises that physical activity can help people manage stress and support mental wellbeing. Getting outdoors can also offer an opportunity to switch off from everyday worries. NHS: activity and mental wellbeing ↗

None of this requires an expensive fitness tracker.

The trees won't ask for your subscription details.

You don't have to call it mindfulness

There's an entire vocabulary around looking after your mental wellbeing that can sometimes make perfectly ordinary activities sound needlessly complicated.

Mindfulness. Grounding. Optimisation. Recovery.

These ideas can be useful, and I'm certainly not suggesting we dismiss them.

But you don't have to adopt a new vocabulary to appreciate being outside.

You can just go for a walk.

Notice things if you want to.

Listen to some music or leave your headphones at home.

Take the same familiar route you've walked a hundred times or discover somewhere different.

You don't need to achieve anything.

And if you come home feeling exactly the same as when you left, that doesn't mean you've failed.

You're a person, not a fitness experiment.

Sometimes "Fancy a walk, mate?" is enough

I think there's a particularly interesting conversation to be had around men and mental health.

Not because men are the only people who struggle, or because everybody processes their feelings in the same way.

But because asking for help or talking about difficult things can be uncomfortable for some of us.

There's often an expectation that we should simply get on with things.

Don't make a fuss. Sort it out. Keep busy.

And if somebody asks whether we're all right?

"Yeah, fine, mate."

Conversation over.

Which is why I like the simplicity of asking somebody to go for a walk.

You don't have to arrange a formal conversation about feelings.

You don't have to announce that something's wrong.

You can simply spend a bit of time together.

Walking side by side can sometimes feel more comfortable than sitting opposite somebody wondering who is supposed to speak first.

Perhaps the conversation turns to something that's been bothering one of you.

Perhaps you spend twenty minutes talking absolute bollocks about football.

Either is fine.

The point is that you've made time for each other.

And if a mate does open up about something serious, listen to him. Don't feel you have to solve everything there and then.

Sometimes being there matters more than having the perfect answer.

A walk isn't therapy. It isn't a substitute for getting professional help when someone needs it.

But it can be a simple way to create a little connection.

And we could all do with more of that.

Ten minutes without a target

At Gym Dodgers, we talk a lot about starting small.

Ten minutes is a useful example, not a magic number.

The NHS encourages people to begin with manageable amounts of physical activity and build gradually. Brisk walking can contribute to wider physical activity recommendations. NHS: walking for health ↗

But this particular walk doesn't need to be brisk.

If you're going outside to relax, clear your head or get a little breathing space, you don't have to turn it into a training session.

Choose a pace and duration that suit you.

Perhaps you walk to the end of your road and back.

Perhaps you find a park bench and sit for a while.

Perhaps you spend a few minutes in the garden.

If walking isn't accessible to you, suitable seated movement, time outdoors, or simply spending a little time somewhere different might offer another way to take a break.

There's no competition here.

Nobody's handing out medals.

What if the weather's horrible?

Well, we do live in Britain.

Occasionally the weather is going to behave like it has a personal grudge against us.

A little ordinary rain might not bother you.

But if there are severe weather warnings, high winds, icy pavements or genuinely dangerous conditions, stay somewhere safe.

You do not have to prove your commitment to mental wellbeing by being hit on the head by a falling branch.

Move about indoors if that suits you.

Open the curtains. Change rooms. Take a break from the screen.

And remember that rest is allowed too.

Not every difficult day needs to become another challenge to complete.

The important bit

I don't want to pretend that getting outside is an answer to everything.

Depression, anxiety, grief, chronic stress and other mental-health difficulties can be complex. Sometimes people need treatment, professional support or help from those around them.

A walk won't fix that on its own.

And telling somebody who's struggling to "just get outside" can be spectacularly unhelpful.

What walking can offer some people is a small, approachable activity that may help them feel a little better, create a break in the day or open the door to a conversation.

That's enough of a reason to try it.

No dramatic promises.

No before-and-after photographs.

No requirement to become a new person.

Sometimes getting outside isn't about losing weight or getting fitter.

Sometimes you just need to get out of your own head for a bit.

And when you get home?

Put the kettle on.