Skip to main content

Thank you for visiting nature.com. You are using a browser version with limited support for CSS. To obtain the best experience, we recommend you use a more up to date browser (or turn off compatibility mode in Internet Explorer). In the meantime, to ensure continued support, we are displaying the site without styles and JavaScript.

  • RESEARCH HIGHLIGHT

Humans walk efficiently even with their heads in the clouds

Exoskeleton-clad volunteers show that adapting to an energy-saving pace requires almost no attention.
A man walks past a wall covered in colourful graffiti looking at his mobile phone

Maintaining the most energy-efficient way of walking makes minimal cognitive demands, freeing up the brain to focus on other things, such as text messages. Credit: Julian Castle/Loop Images/UIG/Getty

Can you chew gum and walk? An analysis of gait and attention suggests that multitasking on a stroll should be a breeze1.

Access options

Buy article

Get time limited or full article access on ReadCube.

$32.00

Buy

All prices are NET prices.

Nature 597, 451 (2021)

doi: https://doi.org/10.1038/d41586-021-02515-5

References

  1. McAllister, M. J., Blair, R. L., Donelan, J. M. & Selinger, J. C. J. Exp. Biol. 224, jeb242655 (2021).

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

Download references

Subjects

Latest on:

Nature Careers

Jobs

Nature Briefing

Sign up for the Nature Briefing newsletter — what matters in science, free to your inbox daily.

Get the most important science stories of the day, free in your inbox. Sign up for Nature Briefing

Search

Advanced search

Quick links