You have probably heard the saying by Hippocrates “Walking is The Best Medicine”. And when you think about it, that short sentence tells you a lot about your health. Walking combined with a healthy diet, and good night sleep can help you avoid the doctor altogether.
As little as 15-30 minutes of walking every day can drastically improve not only a person’s overall appearance but health as well. Plus, walking is free, easy and requires little effort.
Here’s a list of benefits you can get by walking every day:
1. Positive brain changes
All kinds of physical activity, including the low impact aerobic exercises like walking, rejuvenate the entire body by sending new blood throughout the entire body. That way, you feel better and healthier, and your brain gets enough blood to function properly. It can prevent early dementia, reduce the risk of Alzheimer’s disease, and improve your mental health.
2. Improved eyesight
Even though eyes might seem like the last thing to be connected with the legs, walking actually benefits their health too. Walking (and exercise as a whole) may reduce the eye pressure, and thus help to fight glaucoma.
3. Prevention of heart disease
Walking is not the same thing as running, however, it is as effective as running when it comes to the prevention of heart problems. It lowers the blood pressure, improves the blood circulation, and keeps the blood cholesterol levels within some reasonable limits.
4. Increased lung volume
Walking is an aerobic exercise which improves oxygen flow in the bloodstream, removes the toxins from your body, and increases the capacity of your lungs. And better breathing is good for your lungs.
5. Beneficial effects on the pancreas
According to studies, walking turns out to be a much more effective tool in preventing diabetes than running. This research shows that a group of “walkers” demonstrated improvement in glucose tolerance almost 6 times greater (i.e. how well blood sugar is absorbed by cells) than that of a group of “runners,” over a 6 month trial period.
6. Improved digestion
You don’t have to go to the gym every single day to improve your digestion. A 30-minute walk per day will not only help you with your cholesterol, fat loss, and digestion problems but also with the risk of colon cancer.
7. Toned muscles
Walking can also help you burn calories, lose fat, and tone your muscles. You can make a difference with 10,000 steps per day, especially if you try the uphill climb! Additionally, it’s low impact and there’s no recovery time, which means no sore muscles.
8. Stronger bones and joints
Our leg joints and muscles are made to be used. And walking will only do good for them. It will improve the joint mobility, it will prevent loss of bone mass, and even make them stronger and more resilient to fractures. It is recommended to walk 30 minutes per day every day to reduce pain.
9. Back pain relief
Walking is a low-impact activity and it will not hurt your back. It will, in fact, lower the back pain by improving the blood circulation around the spinal structures and making you improve your posture and flexibility.
10. A calmer mind
Psychiatrists recommend walking as a good exercise for people with major depressive disorders. Well, if it can help that kind of people, imagine how good it is for people who only need to cope with everyday problems. Everybody feels happy after an exercise.