The Health Benefits Of Going For A Walk

There are a lot of good reasons to go for a walk. It’s fun, it’s relaxing, and most important it’s good for your health. But what exactly are the health benefits of walking? I hope I can convince you that heading out for a walk each day is a great idea and it motivates you to stick to your walking schedule so you can see results.

Walking Gets You Outside In The Fresh Air and Sunshine

No matter how fast or slow you walk, walking gets you outside and in the fresh air. This alone will make you feel better as your body absorbs the oxygen and sunshine. Both are important for your health and well-being. Additionally, the findings of a study published in the Journal of Sports Medicine, showed walking through green spaces can put the brain into a meditative state.  

You will find the air quality outside, particularly if you go for a walk on the beach or in a park, will be much better than the air inside your house. Of course, the sunshine outside will help your body produce all the Vitamin D it needs. Remember to wear sunscreen.

While walking indoors doesn’t have quite the same calming, meditative effect on the brain as walking in nature does, just 20 minutes of walking in any setting releases endorphins and lowers stress.

Walking Can Help You Get To And Maintain A Healthy Weight

Walking particularly at a quick pace and doing it regularly can help you get to and then maintain a healthy weight. Yes, you still need to watch what you eat and aim for a healthy diet, but walking can be another tool to help you drop those extra pounds. Studies show that a disproportional amount of weight is lost in the abdomen through physical activity. They show that power walkers were able to reduce abdominal fat including visceral fat (which surrounds the organs and carries the risk of diabetes, high blood pressure and heart disease).

The nice thing about walking when you’re overweight is that you burn a lot of calories, even on short and slow walks, simply because you’re carrying so much weight around with you. As you start to lose the weight, your overall strength and endurance increases, allowing you to walk longer, further, and faster.

Walking Improves Your Sense Of Balance And Coordination

As you walk, particularly when walking over rougher terrain, you’re also working on your sense of balance and coordination. Just getting in the habit of going for a daily walk will help. But you can work even more on your sense of balance by moving your head around. Turn your head to the right and left as you walk for a count of 30. Then move your head up and down for a count of 30. If you do these simple exercises once or twice as you walk each day you’ll get even more benefit.

Walking Strengthens Your Bones and Muscles

Even though walking is a low impact form of exercise it helps to strengthen and tone your body. If you’re just starting out, it is all you need to start to get into better shape. As you get more fit, consider adding weight lifting exercises in addition to your daily walks to continue to get stronger and help develop strong muscles and bones.

Want to do even more to strengthen your bones. Add in a few minutes of “brisk” walking to your routine (start with 3-5 two minute brisk spirts working your way up to 3 five minute brisk spirts). Walking regularly can reduce your risk of hip fractures by 60%. You might also try adding in a few backwards/sidesteps to your walk. Also try adding some hills and steps to your routine. All of these will improve bone density.

Walking Will Add Years to Your Life

In a recent study, published in March 2020 in the Journal of American Medicine Association (JAMA), low-intensity strolls appear to be just as effective as higher-intensity power walks. Participants in the study walked 4,000 steps a day, 8,000 steps a day, and 12,000 steps a day. Those who walked 8,000 steps had a 51% lower mortality risk and those that got in 12,000 steps a day had a 65 percent lower risk of death.

Additionally, a study published in the British Medical Journal (BMJ) examined the association between time spent walking and life expectancy. The authors followed over 27,000 participants aged 40 to 79 and prospectively collected data on their survival covering a 13-year-period. The researchers found participants who walked one hour per day had a longer life expectancy from 40 years of age than participants who walked less than one hour per day.

It has also been shown that those who work to get fit later in life can cut their risk of a potentially deadly stroke in half.

Walking Will Boost Your Mood and Fight Depression

Last but not least, the exercise of walking releases endorphins that will help lift your mood and can even reduce depression. Just 20 minutes of walking will lower stress. Being active helps switch off from everyday pressures, clear our heads and relieves stress by reducing levels of cortisol, ‘the stress hormone’, which has been linked to a range of mental health problems including depression and anxiety.

Give it a try. The next time you’re feeling tired or are in a bad mood, lace up your sneakers and go for a brisk walk. It works like a charm.

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