Have you noticed? Many of us get “in motion” as soon as we get on the phone. A habit so widespread that we no longer pay attention to it. At first glance, however, nothing seems to connect a phone call to the need to move one’s legs. And yet, this behavior is far from trivial.
Walk to think better
Although no study has really been carried out on this phenomenon, certain hypotheses frequently arise. According to Christophe Haag, researcher in social psychology and specialist in emotions at EM Lyon, interviewed by Le Figaro Madamewalking during a call would simply allow you to… think better. Motor activity stimulates brain awakening, revives attention and promotes concentration. By moving, the brain becomes more available.
Ideas flow more easily, speech becomes more fluid, answers come more naturally. The movement would thus promote a better organization of thought. This would also explain why we tend to stand up as soon as a discussion becomes a little more complex.
From a physiological point of view, the mechanism is just as simple. When the body is in action, the brain is better irrigated, the blood circulates more and is better oxygenated.
Free the mind and accumulated tension
For psychologist Pascal Anger, walking while talking goes beyond the simple question of concentration. It’s also a way to clear the mind and release tension during the call.
“Telephoning, especially when it is a personal or emotional exchange, mobilizes mental energy. Movement then allows it to be expended, to channel inner agitation”.
Then, over time, this behavior became a collective habit. Walking during a call allows you to be both connected to others and in action. “We talk, we exchange, but we don’t stay still. This combination gives the feeling of functioning better mentally, of being less under pressure, more relaxed, more cognitively “fluid”.
A modern habit that fits the context
Another positive aspect according to the psychologist: in an increasingly sedentary society, walking while talking allows you to move a little more, to introduce movement into days that are often too static. “A way, in short, to combine business with pleasure.”
Pascal Anger points out, however, that this trend is not without danger. Walking while calling in the street, at a pedestrian crossing or near traffic requires special attention. “The body is in motion, but the mind is elsewhere, absorbed in the conversation. The risk of accident exists, and it must not be ignored.”.
Always on the move, always connected?
There remains a deeper question, raised by our expert: what if this inability to remain still revealed something about our time? “We find it increasingly difficult to do nothing, to remain static, to simply observe, listen or wait. The telephone then becomes a pretext for constant movement, one more activity in an already saturated daily life.
Walking while talking on the phone would thus be a symptom of a constant need to be active, connected, stimulated. A reassuring habit, but which also questions our relationship to calm, silence and inaction.