Walking is regulated by environmental temperature

Abstract

The mechanisms that regulate human walking are not fully understood, although there has been substantial research. In our study, we hypothesized that, although walking can be volitionally modified, it is also involuntary and controlled by evolutionary factors, such as the relationship between temperature and movement speed in poikilotherms. This study aimed to determine the effects of environmental temperature on speed, step length, and cadence during unrestrained walking over long periods. Customers of a private insurance company were asked to use a background smartphone GPS application that measured walking parameters. Participants were 1065 app users (298 men and 767 women) aged 14–86 years. Observed walking speed and cadence were higher in winter (average maximum temperature: 10.2 °C) than in summer (average maximum temperature: 29.8 °C) (p < 0.001). The walking parameters were closely related to environmental temperature, with cadence most strongly correlated with daily maximum temperature (r = − 0.812, p < 0.001) and indicating a curvilinear relationship. A decrease in environmental temperature was found to increase cadence when the temperature was below 30 °C. The findings suggest that walking may be regulated by environmental temperature and potentially by the autonomic nervous system’s response to environmental temperature.