Societal ADHD: Can Going for a Walk Help?

In this episode of Wake Up, Look Up, Pastor Zach takes on the subject of “Societal ADHD,” examining how our culture’s constant distractions and divided attention shape the way we live and think. From the pull of technology to the pressures of busyness, he contrasts society’s restless pace with the biblical call to focus on Jesus. This conversation offers both challenge and encouragement, reminding believers to slow down, center their hearts, and give their full attention to what truly matters.

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Creators and Guests

Host

Zach Weihrauch

Follower of Jesus who has graciously given me a wife to love, children to shepherd, and a church to pastor.

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Check out new episodes of our daily podcast, Wake Up, Look Up, with Zach Weihrauch as he interprets what's happening in our world through the lens of the gospel.

(0:08) Hello, everyone. (0:10) Thanks for listening to Wake Up, Look Up, a podcast where we connect events happening (0:15) in real time to the gospel of Jesus Christ. (0:18) I'm Zach Weihrauch.
(0:19) And in today's episode, we're talking about societal ADHD, and we're asking the question, (0:24) can going for a walk help? (0:26) Now before I get into this, let me distinguish. (0:28) I'm using ADHD, almost more like a slang, to reference our inability to stay focused. (0:35) I'm not taking a shot at people who are actually diagnosed with ADHD.
(0:39) That's a real thing. (0:41) But societal ADHD, the inability to focus and to have attention on one thing, is a problem (0:47) we are creating. (0:48) It's a problem we can get out of, at least according to the New York Times recently, (0:53) which revealed a study out of the University of Michigan.
(0:56) I feel sick even saying that, that says that nature improves focus by 20%. (1:04) You can go up one-fifth in your attention span simply by getting outside. (1:10) Walking outside, being around nature, has been shown to boost attention, boost your (1:16) memory, far more, by the way, than even walking in an urban environment.
(1:22) And here's the thing. (1:23) This is what's fascinating about the study. (1:25) It showed that that didn't even, that wasn't even changed based on the weather.
(1:30) So as you think about Northeast Ohio right now, it's a great time to go for a walk. (1:34) It might not be in six or seven weeks. (1:35) But according to the University of Michigan, even going out to walk when the weather is (1:39) bad still helps improve your attention and your memory.
(1:43) There's just something about being outside. (1:46) In fact, they're calling it attention restoration theory. (1:50) There's something about nature that stimulates and brings us back to where we need to be (1:56) with attention and memory.
(1:57) And the reason why I want to focus on that is because who doesn't need attention restoration (2:03) therapy? (2:05) We are more distracted than we've ever been. (2:07) We can't focus the way we used to be able to focus. (2:11) It's changing our culture and the way back just might be a walk.
(2:16) So I want to give full support to getting out in nature, and I want to support that from (2:22) the Bible. (2:22) So let me attempt that argument. (2:24) Let's start with this.
(2:26) The Bible tells us that God is constantly looking to restore us. (2:31) In Psalm 22, the psalmist says, God restores my soul. (2:36) There's this understanding that in every culture, whether it was in ancient Hebrew culture or (2:41) today, there's a kind of withering that takes place.
(2:44) You start your day at a certain level, and the events of that day deplete you and diminish (2:49) you so that you actually need restoration. (2:53) And God wants to be the one who does it. (2:57) And of course, the question isn't whether God wants to do it or whether you need it.
(3:01) It's where that should happen. (3:04) And so you might find it interesting to note that Jesus himself seemed to look for that (3:10) in nature. (3:10) You can imagine Jesus' days were pretty depleting.
(3:14) I just read a passage the other day in Matthew 14 where Jesus goes on a boat to get away (3:19) from the crowds and sails to the other side of a lake, and when he gets there, there's (3:23) just another crowd waiting on him. (3:26) I can't imagine how depleted and diminished he felt at the end of the day, which is why (3:31) so often in passages like Luke 5.16, we find him getting away in nature to rest and recharge. (3:39) In fact, even the night he's arrested, which he knows it's coming, he goes into a garden (3:44) to pray.
(3:45) Jesus was looking for restoration. (3:48) He also believed that nature could teach us. (3:50) Think about Matthew 6 when he tells us that the cure for anxiety is considering the lilies (3:55) of the field or the birds of the air.
(3:59) Jesus understood that not only was nature restorative, not only was it an atmosphere (4:04) in which God could restore us, but also it had some lessons to teach us. (4:09) The reason why all this is important is because Christian growth is fundamentally about our (4:15) minds. (4:17) Romans 12 says that we need to be transformed by the renewing of our mind.
(4:21) A distracted mind, a mind that can't focus, a mind that has no attention span is a mind (4:28) that's going to have a tough time transforming. (4:30) Listen, do you feel that? (4:32) Do you feel how distracted you've become? (4:34) Do you feel how easily your mind wanders? (4:37) How tempting it is to fill every moment, to fill every space with a podcast or a song (4:44) or a television show or a conversation? (4:47) What if the spiritual growth you're craving, what if the relationship with God you're hungry (4:53) for is just a walk away? (4:56) No AirPods, no distraction, just a walk in which you have space to think, space to pray, (5:03) space to be ministered to, space to restore. (5:06) It's almost as though God is standing at your front door saying, I don't want you to (5:11) be withered.
(5:12) I want to renew you. (5:13) I want to restore you. (5:14) I want to transform you.
(5:16) Will you go on a walk with me? (5:20) And what science and the Bible are telling us is that if you will answer yes to that, (5:25) rain or shine, snow or warm, if you will answer yes to that, there is a new life waiting for (5:33) you. (5:33) You don't have to be distracted. (5:35) You don't have to lose your ability to focus.
(5:38) You just need to get outside. (5:41) Go for a walk. (5:42) Try it tomorrow with God and let him restore your soul.
(5:48) This episode of Wake Up, Look Up was produced by Marcus Cunningham and Hallie Andrews. (5:52) Our topic researcher is Shanna Young. (5:54) This episode was directed by Rima Saleh.
(5:57) Our podcast coordinator is Hallie Andrews. (6:00) Our production manager and audio wizard is Marcus Cunningham with tech and engineering (6:04) support from Matthew Adel and Landon Hall. (6:07) I'm your host, Zach Weihrauch.
(6:09) Join us for the next episode of Wake Up, Look Up.