Why do humans swing arms while walking?
In: Biology
Balance and inertia. Our fully upright posture raises our center of gravity far higher than other primates (although other primates also often swing their arms somewhat when they choose to walk fully upright). By swinging our arms in concert with the swinging of our legs we keep our actual mechanical center more stabilized than if we didn’t – and by being relaxed our hands become something of a pendulum that swing even further than is technically necessary which is why walks with exaggerated arm swinging like “saunters” or “struts” are perceived as being done by people who are especially relaxed/confident.
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