With 15,000 steps a day, you are the happiest

Walking is the new socializing (I can do both at the same time, but that's beside the point) and the step counter is the new scale. According to the Health Council, 8000 steps a day is a good guideline, but neuroscientist O'Mara says that health and happiness really go hand in hand at 15,000 steps a day. I recently saw a photo of a friend of mine and her bizarrely well-defined muscles, and the recipe was: walk, walk, walk. At least 15,000 steps a day and sometimes a hike of twelve kilometers. She didn't care that she even bought special and possibly less charming footwear for it. And she's right: those shoes can come off, those muscles stay.

But how do you do that in practice, because 15,000 steps is quite a lot. Here we go.

1. Never sit and wait anywhere
Are you too early? Ask the person you have an appointment with to call you and say that you will stay within a three-minute radius. How much more fun and pleasant is it to use the time to take a walk outside? That's where ideas come from, and moreover, you get much more lux in, and the amount of lux determines how happy you feel. (Just read what Adeline has written about it and why nice weather makes you really happier.)

2. Park your car further away
I saw a documentary about a 74-year-old heart surgeon who still worked and said: the greatest gift you can give yourself is to park your car far away. Be happy with every walk.

3. Take the stairs twice
Of course you take the stairs and not the elevator. But why not take an extra round from bottom to top?

4. Step in place while refueling
Okay, I keep lifting my leg back while refueling to train my glute muscle. Yes, sometimes someone looks at me with a raised eyebrow. But just wait until you see me on the beach later, mister. And besides, I think we need to get rid of the notion that it's weird if someone moves. If we run, you hear ‘they've got him already’, hopping is Really Very Strange and jumping rope too. I don't care.

5. Get a dog
Then you have to. I often already have four thousand steps in during the morning walk. Two good walks, a quick one in between, and a few parking spots a couple of streets further on, and you've got it. And if you don't have a dog, there’s probably a dog friend you can join or someone who will do you a favor if you walk their dog.

6. Send screenshots of your steps to other fanatics
That helps.

Go for it. And, stay on the walking paths. Adeline will tell you why tomorrow.

7. Walk during phone calls
AirPods in and just walk.

8. Walk to the city
I recently had to pick up skates with a friend in the city. ‘Shall we take the legs?’ It was so much less stressful than by car. No hassle with parking and in the end, we were maybe just as fast as if we had gone by car. Better for the environment, cheaper, and also so much more pleasant.