Walking is an great way to boost or maintain your health overall. Walking is a crucial aerobic exercise and an efficient method to boost your metabolism. Walking provides different health benefits to people of all ages. It may help to get rid of certain diseases and even can prolong your life. It is easy to do and fits into your routine. All you need to start walking is just dedication and patience. Remember that you will reap more benefits if you walk farther, faster and frequently. Read on to know about the benefits of walking:
Walking Benefits:
Reduce Risk of Heart Disease and Stroke
In today’s era, heart disease is the main cause of death. Since you cannot change the factors responsible for heart diseases and stroke like sex, age or your family history. You can definitely alter your lifestyle and can include daily walk for at least 30 to 60 minutes. The physical activities done on regular basis can decrease the heart diseases. The walking helps you to shed off the calories and control your weight. This eliminates the developing the conditions that can put strain on your heart such as high cholesterol, high blood pressure and diabetes of Type 2.
In total of 30 to 60 minutes of walking you can add 10 to 15 minutes of activities like gardening, housekeeping, stepping the stairs etc. you will be noticing higher benefits by enhancing the intensity, frequency and duration of your workouts.
Walk And Weight Loss
Walking regularly offers numerous health benefits, like weight loss. This is also one of the easiest and cost effective exercises that a person can do to reduce weight. Number of people walk on the regular basis and they also reap the advantages of being more active. When it is talked about the workout strategies for weight loss, walking is underrated. There is also not a learning curve in walking as you do not have to go to any special gym and you do not even get medals.
The brisk walking for around 25 to 30 minutes daily is enough to drop pounds. The weight that a person can lose depends from one person to another. According to the research, men tend to lose weight faster than the women.
Reduction Of Risk Of Diabetes
The contemporary changes in the society in the lifestyle behaviors have resulted in deficiency of no physical activity at all. The evidences gathered supports promoting the exercises for treatment of Type 2 Diabetes. It has been recommended that a good method to begin something is to take it slow, set the goals that will be achievable. If you do not walk at all, then you must start walking at least 1 minute a day. After few days, you can extend it to about 2 minutes. This plan will give you the motivation to keep it up. In an analysis, that involved 5 studies to examine walking and the Type 2 diabetes ( a data from almost 3 lakh people) found that those people who walked for 20 minutes per day, had approximately 30% less risk of getting Type 2 diabetes.
Stronger Muscles and Improved Balance
The sense of balance worsens with aging. Having poor balance can leads to falling, that may cause head injuries. In the older adults, who cannot perform strenuous exercises, walking acts as wonders for them. Walking builds the strength of lower body that is a crucial element for having good balance. You must remember that the minutes count not the miles. The walking plan must be framed to boost your physical activity in a safer manner whether you are fairly active or sedentary.
Also, as we reach at 30, we start to lose 3 to 5% of muscle mass every year. A study published in the Journal of Bone and Mineral Research, concluded that just 30 minutes of walk twice a week, of high intensity resistance has shown to enhance functional performance and bone density.
Boosts Immune Function
Walking also helps to boost your immunity. Having good immunity, we can say that you will be protected during season of cold and flu. In a study of around 1000 men and women concluded that those who walked for minimum of 25 minutes a day, at least 4-5 days a week, had 45% of less sick days than those who walked once a week or even less. The physical activities help to flush bacteria out from the lungs. This reduces the chances of getting cough, cold or other sicknesses.
Furthermore, exercise decreases the release of stress hormone. Lower stress hormones leads to protection against illnesses.
Delay Aging
Aging is a complex process. We become less active as we grow older. The researchers have concluded that those who do exercise at the regular basis have defied the aging process having the immunity, muscle mass and cholesterol levels as of a young person. You can even begin with a walk of about 30 minutes a day. The Studies have even found a link between regular exercise and lengthening of telomeres, which states that walking can even slow down the clock so you can live long.
Enhances Gastrointestinal Function
The gastrointestinal tract plays a crucial role in gut and the systematic health that affects the key organs through its functional relationship with blood supply. No doubt, the functionality of our digestive system has much to do with nutrition, however, walking plays crucial role in it. Regular walking helps to strengthen the digestive tract and keep the gut healthy. Researchers have proved that walking has other benefits for digestive system that also includes increasing the microbiota that is found in the gut and also decreases the risk of colon cancer. As you become sluggish and less active, your intestine also tends to slow down.
Walking increases the flow of blood towards the digestive tract and the muscles, that helps the food to move through digestive tract. It has also been proven that gas, heartburn, constipation and stomach cramps can be alleviated by walking.
Uplifts Mood
Do you feel bored and sluggish at work? The recent study shows that walking can be good to rejuvenate your mood, even if you are facing a dreaded chore. Obviously, going for a walk around your home, gives you a boost in mood. Spending some time in nature and getting exposed in sunlight helps to lift your spirits and your state of mind and includes feelings like interest, joy, enthusiasm, alertness etc. Being alert at your work will definitely make you more productive and successful.
Reduces the Risk of Stroke in Women
Stroke has been proved to be one of the major causes of death in men and women. A recent study suggested that talking a walk can even lower the risk of stroke. Even at the relaxed pace, more hours a week women walks, reduces the risk of stroke. A research was conducted on habits of approximately 40,000 females, whose average age was 54. The study found that women who walked at the pace of 3 miles per hour had 37% less risk of suffering from any virus. On the other hand, women who walked two or more hours per week had 30% less risk of suffering from any stroke.
Improves Memory
According to neurological study, ten minutes of even mild walking may alter how different parts of brain communicate and coordinate with each other and enhances functioning of memory. Also, instead of retracing your steps, you must try to walk in backward direction to boost your memory.
A study published in Journal Cognition, stated that people who walked in backward direction, or even imagined that they were walking backwards, had a better recall of past incidents than those who walked forward.
Improves Varicose Veins
Regular walking can eliminated the chances of developing varicose veins. If you are already suffering from varicose veins, walking can ease your symptoms and keeps you to progress. If you have already got the varicose veins, then you could be thinking to skip the walk in a fear that your already painful veins may get worsened. Even something simple like walking lead to with some incredible benefits, you must include other exercises in your routine. Therefore, do not let your varicose veins to keep you away from daily health boost.
Conclusion
Since, walking is not as much intensive as running. Therefore, you will have to walk for long period, go outside your home frequently to walk. It is advisable that you must begin with slow-paced walking and work for up to 8000-10000 steps per day. Before and after walking, always do warm-up and cool-down exercises to prevent injury to your tissues and muscles. If you are having any orthopedic problems, you should seek advice of your doctor before setting the fitness goals.
