By I’m not entirely sure why I began walking so much, but it kind of grew on me.
Health benefits weren’t behind my intention to keep walking every day — it was helping me on a mental & emotional level.
With one 20 or 30-minute walk, I’d transition from stress to calmness.
Since mum was diagnosed with Cancer, wellness has become essential to my life.
All the walking I did, day in and day out, helped me put a much-needed smile on my face to be a source of support.
When times get tough, walking will see you through them.
If a workout is more your scene, consider it a real winner when you take on walking as a regular daily routine.
Any exercise you can commit to for 30 minutes or more daily will benefit your health and your entire body.
To attain better health, we all must keep moving in some form. It may be walking, cycling, running or lifting weights. Whatever you are currently doing — add some walking in between to increase your fitness a little more.
Here are the four top benefits of walking
One: It improves your mood and decreases stress
Walking has proven that I can decrease my stress levels and ease any negative feelings during particular times of the day.
Those feel-good chemicals aren’t only triggered by heavy-duty exercise — but can be signalled during a walk.
I feel so much lighter, fresher and happy after a walk.
A 2018 study uncovered that a brief 10-minute bout of walking helped improve participants’ state of mind.
Becoming regularly active increases dopamine and triggers an immediate impact on your state of mind.
Perhaps you’ve felt this happen while walking?
Two: Controls blood sugar
Our doctor told mum (a diabetic) to walk regularly — before and after meals, to help control her blood sugar.
She followed this advice until her death, which put her in a better position to deal with her type two diabetes — whilst having the flexibility to enjoy some off-limit foods.
A study of more than 300k uncovered something important.
People who walked regularly had a 30 per cent lower risk of developing type two diabetes.
This finding increases the validity of my doctor’s claim too. A brisk walk is also linked to a 41 per cent lower risk of developing type two diabetes.
Whether or not you have diabetes, regular walking before and after meals can help lower your blood sugar levels.
Three: Immune boosting
Exercise alone boosts our immune system, causing a change in antibodies and white blood cells that help fight off illness.
In addition, when our body temperature rises, it helps slow bacterial growth and releases stress hormones.
Walking is also very low impact and helps lower stress hormones that can contribute to fighting off the bad guys. So stress does play a big part in lowering our immune system.
Four: Keeps our heart healthy
The National heart foundation in Australia recommends 30 minutes or more of walking daily to lower your chances of developing heart disease while reducing your risk of stroke by 35 per cent.
Walking daily will help you maintain weight, boost metabolism, and regulate blood pressure and cholesterol.
So many excellent benefits for just 30 minutes per day!
If you can’t make it to 30 minutes, don’t worry; even ten minutes is better than nothing. Don’t forget that housework and your general active moments during the day all add up towards something.
Key take away
What I love most about walking is that anyone can get started immediately, regardless of age.
No equipment or unique clothing is necessary. Any time of day is adequate — those legs are made for more walking than sitting in a car from A-B.
Allocating a little bit of your daily time for walking will benefit your health and your mood, immune system, and mental health.
Walking has become the most critical mental health tool because it makes such a profound difference without needing any expensive gym fees, equipment or someone’s assistance.
It’s just you, your headphones, the fresh air and the green scenery.
Try it out and see what it can do for you too.
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