Why do people swing their arms when walking? I do it too, just seems like a waste of energy!?

Answer 1

coz we dont walk like robots

Answer 2

It might be true that in people who tend to swing arms more it is a psychological effect of... overexaggeration? It appears to me that the arms are dangling more than actually swinging due to the movement of legs which acts on the torso and everything else, with the center of gravity being the belly button area.

Answer 3

Actually, it has a lot to do with physics, as opposed to biology. We swing our arms for balance. Cat use their tails for balance, and yes there are bob-tailed cats--they recomensate for the balance that their tail gives.

In regard to energy use, runners learn to hold their arms and hands a certain way to lessen the air resistance. We really don't use a lot of energy swinging our arms, generally. The weight of our arms is used along with gravity.

Answer 4

Actually, you waste energy if you DON'T swing your arms. That's because a biped (animal that walks on 2 feet) has a dynamically unstable gait. In order to maintain balance without flexing your abs constantly, your arms swing side to side to absorb forces/slow down accelerations (thus acting as dynamic balancers) so that your gait is smooth. If you didn't do this, you'd burn a lot of energy constantly flexing your abs and your lower back.

Answer 5

It's actually an act of balance. If anything you're actually saving energy since the up and down of your arms helps your body move with ease. Think of when you used to swing, (If you ever did, of course). It was easier to swing higher moving your legs up and down and pushing your torso back and forth. Well, actually it's impossible to swing without doing this movements, unless you had someone else pushing you all the time! :)

Answer 6

It's actually a hangover from when we walked on all fours... the reflex movement of our arms in time with our legs is hard-wired into our nervous system. There's no actual benefit (it's not for balance because we don't fall over when we consciously stop or alter the arm movement), just a gentle reminder that we're not as "evolved" as sometimes we like to think we are!

Answer 7

obviously i have no scientific answers to offer you ,regarding your question but i can give you some information that might intrest you.

1.people who swing their arms wildly while walking, is talkative , is unable to keep secrets and restless

2. people who tie their hands behind their backs while walking are very observent, the thinking type, intelligent and does'nt let out much about themselves.

Answer 8

It assists with balance. Remember, we walk on two legs, which requires much more balance than four.

Answer 9

rythm. the swinging is a kind of technique that is used to balance and keep some sort of rythm. Also it helps burn calories!

Answer 10

It helps maintain your balance.