8 SURPRISING BENEFITS OF WALKING EVERY DAY
Medically reviewed by Raynetta Samuels PT, DPT, CLTMedically reviewed by Raynetta Samuels PT, DPT, CLT
Many medical professionals and health organizations advocate the importance of regular physical activity to promote health and well-being. Walking is an easy, accessible form of exercise that has many health benefits.
A daily walk can help your body stay healthy, boost mood and energy levels, burn calories, and even prolong your life.
This article explains why walking daily can help you live a long and healthy life, along with tips for getting started.
Protects Your Heart Health
The heart is a muscle, and like any form of exercise, walking strengthens the heart and helps it work more efficiently. A stronger heart boosts circulation, which can help lower blood pressure and improve your heart rate.
Walking is an effective way to decrease inactivity and increase physical activity, which are known to help prevent and manage heart disease. Walking can also help lower other risk factors for heart disease, such as having excess weight, high blood sugar and cholesterol, and chronic stress.
Walking can also help manage your symptoms and improve your quality of life if you have heart disease.
Takeaway
For every 500 steps walked per day, adults ages 70 and older reduced their risk for heart disease, stroke, and heart failure by 14%.
Strengthens Bones and Joints
Walking helps increase flexibility and stability and strengthens major muscle groups that help support bones and joints. Taking a brisk walk for 30 minutes daily three or more times a week has been shown to help prevent bone loss in people in premenopausal women when people and may also help promote bone turnover (the resorption of minerals as old bone is broken down to form new bones).
Boosts Your Immune System
Physical activity like walking is known to boost the immune system. A single 30-minute walk can temporarily increase the level of specific immune cells in the blood. Research shows that people who exercise regularly get fewer viral infections and have less severe symptoms when they get sick than those who don't exercise regularly.
Promotes Weight Loss
Walking burns calories, which promotes weight loss. A 125-pound person burns an average of 107 calories walking for 30 minutes at 3.5 miles per hour (mph) (equivalent to 17 minutes to complete one mile). A 185-pound person will burn about 159 calories at the same distance and pace.
Walking 30 minutes a day, at least five days a week, can effectively promote weight and body fat loss. Walking combined with a low-fat diet was found to be more beneficial for losing weight than diet alone over the course of a 12-week weight loss program.
Takeaway
How many calories you burn from walking depends on how fast you walk, your body type, and how flat the surface you walk on is.
Improves Brain Health
When done regularly, moderate-intensity exercise like walking may increase brain volume in regions responsible for processing information and cognitive skills like memory and learning. In older adults, frequent, leisurely walks have also been found to decrease the risk of developing Alzheimer's disease and other forms of dementia.
Improves Mental Health
Walking naturally releases mood-boosting endorphins in the body, and research shows that the more steps you take, the more your mood improves. Those who get regular exercise such as walking have an up to 40% decrease in the number of days per month they experience poor mental health, including stress, depression, and emotional concerns.
Helps Build Community
Going for a walk with others is a healthy social activity and can help prevent feelings of loneliness and isolation. Walking with others can also promote a sense of camaraderie, along with accountability, encouragement, and motivation to stick with a walking routine.
Extends Your Lifespan
Research found that increasing the number of steps taken daily by 1,000 resulted in a 22% decrease in the risk of dying from all causes, with greater decreases coming with the more steps walked. Compared with those who walked almost 4,000 steps daily, the risk of death from any cause was reduced by 49% for those who walked 5,500 steps per day and 67% for those who walked 11,500 steps a day.
Brisk walking is mainly associated with extending life expectancy. Compared to slow walkers, those who take regular brisk walks have up to 20 years greater life expectancy.
How to Walk: Tips for Starting a Walking Routine
If you are ready to start a walking routine, start slowly and only do what you can to avoid injuries.
Takeaway
Always consult a healthcare provider before starting a walking program.
How Long
It's recommended that adults get 150 minutes per week of moderate-intensity physical activity like walking. The total minutes can be broken up into smaller increments throughout the week, and more than 150 minutes per week of physical activity is associated with increased health benefits.
How Much
Although 10,000 steps a day is popularly used as a walking goal, studies show you don't need to walk that much to reap benefits. Walking 2,200 steps or more daily has been found to reduce the risk of heart disease and death from any cause, with the greatest benefits coming for those who walk between 9,000 and 10,500 steps a day.
How much you need to walk to get benefits can vary by age. One study found that the benefits of walking to lower the risk of death plateaued after 6,000 to 8,000 steps per day for people over 60, and at 8,000 to 10,000 steps per day for those younger than 60. Walking just 500 steps per day is associated with a decreased risk of heart disease, heart failure, and stroke in people over 70.
When You May See Results
When you see results will vary by how much you walk and at what intensity, along with your fitness level. But any walking will be better for you than no walking, even if it's just for a few minutes a day.
Summary
Walking daily has a host of benefits for your body, mind, and emotions. Research has also shown regular walking can help extend your life. Some walking is better than not walking at all, and even shorter daily walks can boost your health. If you're new to walking, start slowly to avoid injury.
Read the original article on Verywell Health.
2024-07-24T14:17:57Z dg43tfdfdgfd