Two Good Reasons to Leave the Car at Home
On Friday 20 March, something good happened on streets across Australia. Kids dusted off their bikes, grabbed their scooters and made their own way to school. National Ride2School Day brought more than 350,000 children outside and moving. If your neighbourhood felt a little more alive that morning, that’s why.
Then, on Friday 27 March, it was the grown-ups turn.
Walk to Work Day raised funds for the Black Dog Institute, and the focus landed on something we think about a lot at Sandstone Healthcare. The connection between moving your body and looking after your mind is real, and it’s worth a conversation.
Two events. One week apart. One idea worth taking seriously.
What happened to getting there yourself?
Research consistently shows that far fewer Australian children walk or ride to school today than a generation ago, despite many living close enough to do so comfortably. The Heart Foundation’s active travel research puts this in plain terms, and the picture hasn’t improved much in recent years.
What we’ve lost isn’t just the exercise. It’s the fresh air, a bit of independence, and ten minutes of unstructured time before the day kicks off. Children who travel actively to school tend to arrive more alert and ready to learn. They pick up a meaningful chunk of the 60 minutes of daily activity their bodies need according to the Australian Government’s physical activity guidelines. And habits formed early tend to stay. Parents walking with younger children often find they gain something too. Other families on the same route. A conversation that wouldn’t have happened over the steering wheel.
It’s not just for kids
This is where Walk to Work Day earns its place in the same conversation.
Australian public health research has found that increasing physical activity across the population could meaningfully reduce the burden of depression and generate significant savings for the health system. The Australian Institute of Health and Welfare has tracked this connection consistently, and the evidence points in one direction.
Walking isn’t a treatment for depression or anxiety. But the evidence that regular physical activity reduces the risk of both is consistent and strong. The Black Dog Institute makes this connection plain, which is why this year’s Walk to Work Day partnered with them directly.
Around one in five Australians will experience a mental illness in any given year, according to the ABS National Study of Mental Health and Wellbeing. Many won’t reach out for help. Building physical activity into the everyday shape of your life, your commute, your school run, your lunch break, is one of the more practical things you can do for your mental health. It doesn’t feel like a clinical intervention. That’s rather the point.
For those of us in Yeerongpilly and the surrounding suburbs, the area is well set up for it. The river, the parks, the bike paths along the south side are there if you’re willing to use them.
Changes that actually stick
Nobody is suggesting you ride 15 kilometres each way from Monday. Try something smaller.
For families, if school is within a kilometre or two, try walking or riding together one morning. It doesn’t have to be every day. Just once, to remember what it feels like. If the distance is too far, park a few streets away and walk the last part in. Let the kids lead sometimes. The confidence that comes from navigating a few blocks on their own is worth more than it looks.
For adults getting themselves to work, get off the bus or train one stop early and walk the rest. Park further away than you normally would. Try a walking meeting instead of a sit-down one. You might find the conversation moves better on your feet.
None of this needs to be a big commitment. Just choosing, once in a while, to do something a little differently.
The part we really mean
At Sandstone Healthcare we talk a lot about building good habits before they’re urgently needed. Active travel is exactly that kind of thing. It doesn’t feel like healthcare. But done regularly, walking and riding do quiet, steady work on your heart, your weight, your sleep and your mood. The kind of work that shows up gradually, in the right direction.
Your kids notice what you do with your body far more than what you tell them. Both of these events were a good reminder of that.
Happy walking, Yeerongpilly and Brisbane South.
Further Reading
- Bicycle Network: Ride2School Program — active travel to school and how to get your kids involved year-round.
- Walk to Work Day — supporting Black Dog Institute — how the event works and what it raised this year.
- Black Dog Institute: Exercise and mental health — what the research says about physical activity and mental wellbeing.
- Healthdirect: Physical activity for children — Australian guidelines for kids’ daily activity, and why active travel counts.
