Surprisingly easy enough for a toddler to achieve, maintaining a healthy weight is one of the most effective methods to be strong, fit, and live a long life. In addition, regular walking has been shown to have numerous positive effects on physical and mental health, and this is a consensus among specialists.
Melina B. Jampolis, M.D., author of The Doctor on Demand Diet, believes the secret is to strut for at least 30 minutes daily. The health benefits of walking have been well-documented, and they apply whether you wear sneakers to the office, buddy up with a friend, or join a hiking group.
Walking is so easy that anyone who can stand alone can do it. For starters, it’s excellent for relieving stress and giving you some “me time,” according to Austin, and it also helps your immune system, metabolism, and muscles and bones. What more can you expect from a half-hour of walking, which is less time than it takes to listen to a whole album? —throughout the week, on average.
28 Fantastic Benefits of Walking Explanations that will Break the Internet
1. You’ll feel better after going for a walk
Dr. Jampolis says walking is a good, calorie-free way to relax instead of drinking a glass of wine or eating a square (or three) of dark chocolate. Studies have shown that even 10 minutes of walking can make you feel better. Recent studies have also shown that going for a walk can make you feel better during the COVID-19 pandemic. And going to a park or other natural place can have an even more significant effect.
Dr. Jampolis says, “Research shows that walking regularly changes your nervous system in a way that makes you less angry and hostile.” This is especially true if you walk in nature or get some sun. This is especially helpful in the winter, when the winter blues are at their worst.
Lastly, she says that striding with a partner, neighbor, or close friend can make you feel better because it makes you feel more connected to other people.
2. It’s a great way to stay fit and lose weight
Dr. Jampolis thinks that even if the number on the scale isn’t changing much, you may find that your jeans are getting looser around the waist as you walk. This is because regular walking has been shown to decrease body fat, which makes the body more sensitive to the hormone insulin.
You’ve been itching to burn more calories. Austin says that if you want to get fitter by walking outside, you should plan your route around hills, change how fast you walk, and try to beat your times by walking the same routes on different days. She also suggests setting a goal of 10,000 steps per day as extra motivation.
Personal trainer Ariel Iasevoli in New York City claims daily walking enhances metabolism by burning more calories and prevents muscle loss.
Exactly! These things don’t require hours on a treadmill. One client dropped 2% of her body fat by walking 0.8 miles daily for a month.
Michele Stanten is a walking coach and the author of Walk Your Way to Better Health. She says that intervals are the key here. If you want to burn the same number of calories in a 30-minute walk as you would if you walked at a moderate pace the whole time, try speeding up for short periods.
This is also good for the cardiorespiratory system. Before you start interval training, it’s best to warm up for three minutes. Then, for the next 25 minutes, walk quickly for five minutes, then run as fast as you can for the next minute (aiming for a six on an intensity scale of one to 10). Finally, take a minute to calm down.
3. Walking every day can lower your risk of getting a chronic disease
Scott Danberg, a paralympic athlete from Florida, says that walking is good for your health in many ways.
The American Diabetes Association says that walking can lower your blood sugar and make it less likely that you will get diabetes. Some studies show that for every 1,000 steps you take daily, your systolic blood pressure will go down by 0.45 points. For example, if you walk 10,000 steps daily, your systolic blood pressure will drop by 2.25 points compared to if you only walked 5,000.
One of the most often cited studies on walking and health was published in The New England Journal of Medicine. It found that walking enough to meet physical activity standards was linked to a 30% lower risk of cardiovascular events (like a heart attack or stroke).
To keep from getting sick, you need to take long walks. Stanten suggests going for a one-hour walk once or twice a week.
4. In some cases, it could even help you live longer
Seriously! And it doesn’t take much work. One study found that people who did moderate exercise, like brisk walking, for 10 to 59 minutes a week were 18% less likely to die during the study period than those who didn’t exercise.
Those who worked up to the recommended 150 minutes of activity each week by doing it in at least ten-minute chunks had a 31% lower risk of dying. Other studies have found that risk goes down as walking speed goes up. So it’s possible that walking is good for your health because it’s good for your heart and lungs.
5. Makes the mind stronger
People are working hard to learn more about this subject. People who walked quickly for an hour three times a week did better at making decisions than those who went to educational seminars. It has been shown that walking and other physical activity make older women smarter. Experts think that these benefits may be due, at least in part, to the fact that physical activity increases the flow of blood to the brain.
6. Lessen the pain of aching joints
Even though it seems counterintuitive, walking can improve your mobility and range of motion by increasing blood flow to tight areas and strengthening the muscles that support your joints.
It has been shown that walking for as little as 10 minutes a day, or an hour a week, can lower the risk of becoming disabled and ease the pain of arthritis in older people. In 2019, the American Journal of Preventive Medicine published a study that looked at 1,564 people over 49 with pain in their lower limb joints.
People who walked an hour a week were likelier to still be healthy after four years. According to another study, people with arthritis of all fitness levels can benefit from walking because it is a low-impact exercise that doesn’t require any preparation and can be done almost anywhere.
7. Daily walks have been shown to reduce the risk of varicose veins.
Varicose veins tend to get worse as people get older. The doctor who started The Vein Treatment Center in New York City, Luis Navarro, thinks walking is the best way to avoid varicose veins.
He says that the veins, muscles, and valves in our calves and feet make up what is often called “the second heart” of the circulatory system. Walking helps build this secondary circulatory system by keeping and improving leg muscles. This increases healthy blood flow and sends more blood back to the heart and lungs.
Dr. Navarro believes daily walking eases varicose vein pain and swelling. In addition, if you have a family history of varicose or spider veins, walking can prevent them.
8. It might help get your stomach working.
Get used to exercising in the morning instead of coffee as the thing that keeps your digestive system healthy. The manager of rehabilitation services at Cancer Treatment Centers of America, Tara Alaichamy, D.P.T., adds that regular walking can improve bowel movements.
Walking is one of the first things doctors tell people to do after abdominal surgery. This is because walking uses your core and abdominal muscles and keeps your digestive system moving.
9. One’s ability to think of new ideas improves while walking.
When you’re feeling stuck at work or attempting to solve a difficult problem, getting up and moving about can help, according to studies. To cite just one example, an article published in 2014 in the Journal of Experimental Psychology: Learning, Memory, and Cognition found that taking a stroll around the block stimulated creative thinking.
Creative thinking was higher in the walking group than in the sitting group, according to Dr. Jampolis’s study participants.
10. Walking may boost the immune system by exercising the body and mind.
Most of us are actively looking for ways to boost our immune systems, and walking is a great way to do that. There is evidence that walking and other moderate exercise help the immune system. Because our bodies have more immune cells to fight infections, we are less likely to get very sick from them.
Studies have also shown that people who get out and walk around more spend less time in the hospital if they get sick. One study found that people who walk regularly are less likely to die from pneumonia than people who don’t move around much.
11. Taking a walk can help you reach other goals.
If you walk daily, you’ll develop a routine, and people with routines tend to stick to them and form positive habits. However, nature didn’t create humans lazy. Marisa Golan, a certified personal trainer and Base Ops Fitness Coach at Fort Athletic Club, believes finding the correct activity for your age and fitness level will help you feel powerful and inspired.
Walking gets seniors’ hearts and bodies moving. If you want to raise your heart rate, try speed walking.
Walking can boost your confidence in your health and fitness goals. In a study of more than 5,000 people, walkers felt healthier overall.
12. Promotes Heart Health
Physical activity like walking has been shown to reduce the risk of heart disease. For example, a study of adult women in rural New York showed a significant positive link between walking and better indicators of cardiovascular health.
Numerous studies have shown that walking reduces the risk of cardiovascular events by 31%. The American Heart Association and the American College of Sports Medicine recommend that adults engage in moderate-intensity physical activity (such as brisk walking) for at least 30 minutes each day, five days per week.
13. Reduces High Blood Pressure
By enhancing circulation, walking also aids in reducing blood pressure.
Eighty-three people with mild hypertension took part in a trial at the Wakayama Medical College in Japan, where researchers had them walk 10,000 steps every day for 12 weeks. After 12 weeks, their blood pressure had decreased noticeably, and they had gained strength.
Keep your blood pressure checked by walking for at least 30 minutes daily if you can’t get 10,000 steps.
14. Controls Glucose Levels in the Blood
Regular, brief walks have been shown to reduce fasting blood glucose levels and increase post-meal glucose disposal.
In order to control type 2 diabetes, experts advise doing at least 5,000 steps per day, with at least 3,000 of those steps coming from vigorous walking.
Short interval walking for 15 minutes or 45 minutes after meals (breakfast, lunch, and supper) reduced post-meal glucose response in a small trial of sedentary seniors (>60 years of age) with blood glucose levels of 105-125 mg/dL.
15. Bone density is increased, and joint mobility is improved
Walking on a regular basis helps strengthen bones by building muscle and increasing joint lubrication.
Walking for 30 minutes or more at a time increased knee discomfort, but the same amount of walking spread out over several sessions improved knee loading and reduced pain, according to a small study of 27 persons with symptomatic knee osteoarthritis.
16. Strengthens the lungs
Likewise, regular walking has been shown to improve lung function. You take in more oxygen when you walk than when you’re just sitting there. You may improve your endurance and efficiency in the gym by improving your lung capacity and the volume at which you exchange oxygen and carbon dioxide during exercise.
Aerobic fitness, according to a study published in The European Respiratory Journal, can improve lung volume.
17. Enhances Digestive Performance
In addition to sticking to a healthy diet and getting plenty of water, regular exercise can do wonders for your digestive system.
Low-intensity exercise has been demonstrated to help prevent gastrointestinal problems. It raises G.I. tract blood flow and enhances GI motility. Constipation and Irritable Bowel Syndrome (IBS) are two conditions that may benefit from this treatment, but the research thus far has been inconclusive.
18. Helps Handle Pressure Better
Stress can be reduced by walking, which increases circulation and hence the delivery of oxygen and nutrients to the body’s cells, which in turn helps to relieve stress. Receptors in the neurological system are also stimulated, and the release of stress hormones is reduced.
The Medical University of Graz in Austria conducted a randomized trial on the effects of walking, resting, and balneotherapy (bath therapy) on stress, and they discovered that the combination was most effective.
19. Helps Keep Memories
Taking daily walks has been shown to improve memory. According to research conducted in Japan, elderly people who engage in regular physical activity see improvements in their memory.
Physical activity has been linked to a larger hippocampus, while a sedentary lifestyle has been linked to a smaller hippocampus and consequent memory loss.
20. Lowers Death Rate
The risk of dying increases with both longer and more strenuous walks. In a study of 1239 men, researchers discovered that those with cardiovascular disease, cerebrovascular illness, or cancer whose walking routine included an average of one to two hours per day had a 70% lower chance of death.
However, no positive effects of walking for longer than 2 hours were seen in these males.
21. It has been shown that walking barefoot can make pain and swelling go away
In this study, 12 people slept for eight weeks on a conductive mattress pad to see what it would be like to sleep on the ground. Everyone who took part in this study was in some way uncomfortable, worried, or had trouble sleeping.
By the end of the testing period, it was clear that the participants’ cortisol levels had gone down by a lot. All of the participants also said that their pain, stress, and sleep problems got better or went away.
22. It can help you get better sleep
According to another study found in PubMed, earthing changes how the body works and makes people feel calm. People who had experienced grounding, as described by the Journal of Alternative and Complementary Medicine, slept better than those who did not regularly do barefoot activities.
Those who do earthing say that their circadian rhythms become more stable. That could be why a lot of people say they sleep better.
23. Walking barefoot has been shown to lower the risk of heart disease
Research published in the Journal of Alternative and Complementary Medicine shows that earthing raises the surface charge of red blood cells. Because of this, cells don’t stick together as much, and the blood is thinner. Since high viscosity is a risk factor for cardiovascular disease on its own, earthing is likely to help reduce that risk in a big way.
24. It makes it easier for biological rhythms to get back on track
Clint Ober, Dr. Stephen Sinatra MD, and Martin Zucker write in their book Earthing that “the biological clock of the body needs to be regularly calibrated by the pulse of the Earth, which controls circadian rhythms of all species on the planet.”
With the help of earthing, we can get back to a normal sleep schedule. This is because earthing resets our internal biological clock. Pollutants like light and chemicals have a big effect on our circadian rhythm and other biological processes. Because of this, getting in touch with the Earth’s negatively charged electrons can be very helpful.
25. Going barefoot can help ease the pain of menstrual cramps
Being barefoot helps ease all kinds of pain, so it shouldn’t be a surprise that it also helps ease menstrual cramps. Stress, which can have a big effect on the mind and body, can cause menstrual cramps. Getting outside and walking barefoot has been shown to be good for your body, mind, and spirit.
There are many medicines at pharmacies that can help relieve cramps in women. However, earthing offers the same advantages with no negative consequences. As a bonus, you’ll also have a big effect on the budget.
26. Barefoot walking reduces tension and headaches
As a pilot study showed, earthing can lessen muscle tension and soreness after exercise, so the same should be true for other muscle-tense conditions.
Earthing can help relieve headaches that have been linked to long-term exposure to radiation. This is because it literally grounds the body and reduces free radicals.
27. Raises energy levels
Even if it seems clear now, it’s important to say this again. If you spend a lot of time in nature, you’ll start to notice the higher frequencies it gives off. Because of this, you also feel more awake. Modern life’s stresses can be bad for your health. You need to spend as much time outside as possible.
28. It can block damaging electromagnetic radiation (electromagnetic fields)
As we’ve previously indicated, earthing can assist reduce the electromagnetic charge in your body. It could also keep you safe from the dangers of electromagnetic fields. Read Earthing: The Most Important Health Discovery Ever? to find out more about the many health advantages of going barefoot.
It was written by a group of medical experts, including doctors, an electrical engineer, and a cardiologist. You can also read about how earthing has helped people in their own words.
Last Words
You can’t just go out and start walking miles and miles the first day. Mix up your regular walking schedule. Start with a daily 10-minute stroll. Bring that time up to 30 minutes a day, if possible. Then you can go for a 30-minute stroll first thing in the morning and again before bed. Similarly, you should progressively quicken your pace of walking. When you’re done walking, spend 20 seconds stretching your legs and calves to calm down your overworked muscles.
There is a plethora of upsides to getting some exercise via walking. It improves markers of cardiovascular health and reduces the chance of heart problems while also helping to boost your metabolism and clear the way for weight loss.
In addition to helping you acquire a toned and fit body with more muscular bones, this aerobic activity can also help you manage hypertension (by improving blood circulation) and diabetes (by regulating blood sugar levels). You should aim for at least 10,000 steps daily, and warming up before and afterward can help prevent injuries.
