Hippocrates has said that “Walking is a man’s best medicine.” You can avoid the doctor by walking combined with good sleep and a healthy diet. By walking 15-30 minutes every day can drastically improve a person’s overall appearance and health.
Bright Side has found that good old walking is a single practice which could significantly benefit the whole body and mind. You only need little effort for that.
Here are some benefits you can literally wall yourself into.
- Positive brain changes
According to a study, low impact aerobic exercises, such as walking, prevent early dementia, reduce the risk of Alzheimer’s disease, and improve overall mental health, it also reduces mental stress and maintains a higher level of endorphins.
- Improved eyesight
Eyes can be the last thing to be connected with the legs, but walking actually benefits eyes’ health too. Walking can help you to fight glaucoma by relieving eye pressure.
- Prevention of heart diseases
Walking is no less effective than running when it comes to the prevention of heart-related disease or stroke said the American Heart Association. You can avoid heart problems by lowering high blood pressure and cholesterol levels and improving blood circulation by walking.
- Increased lung volume
Walking can help youincreases oxygen flow in the bloodstream and helps train your lungs, as well as eliminate toxins and waste as it is an aerobic exercise. Some symptoms associated with lung disease may also be relieved because of better and deeper breathing .
- Beneficial effects on the pancreas
Rather than running, walking for exercise turns out to be a much more effective tool in preventing diabetes. A research was done with a group of “walkers” and “runners”. And “walkers” demonstrated improvement in glucose tolerance almost 6 times greater, how well blood sugar is absorbed by cells than that of a group of “runners,” over a 6 month trial period.
- Improved digestion
By walking 30 minutes every day you could lower the risk of colon cancer in the future and improve our digestion and constipation by helping to regulate our bowel movements.
- Toned muscles
By walking you can achieve muscle tone and weight loss mostly in overweight cases. If you can walk 10,000 steps a day it may be counted as an actual workout in a gym, especially if you add some intervals or walking uphill. It’s low impact and there’s no recovery time, so there’s no sore muscles and you don’t want to worry for missing tomorrow’s workout due to being too sore the next day.
- Sturdier bones and joints
By walking you can provide more joint mobility, prevent loss of bone mass, and even reduce risk of fractures. If you want to reduce pain in your joints, along with stiffness and inflammation, the Arthritis Foundation recommends walking moderately at least 30 minutes a day on a regular basis.
- Back pain relief
There are some people who experience back pain during more challenging high-impact exercises, walking may become a real life-saver for those. It won’t cause more pain or discomfort, like running or HIT as it’s a low-impact activity. Walking can make better blood circulation within the spinal structures and improves posture and flexibility which is vital for a healthy spine.
- A claimer mind (if it was an organ, to be sure)
Walking can improve depression symptoms in patients with major depression disorders, and so, it could definitely help us cope with feeling down or exhausted. Moreover, a joy full walk with a friend or a loved one will only multiplies the happy-effect and improves your mood.
If you have ever tried to substitute a trip to the gym or a run, with walking let us know your comments below.