“Go take a walk” is sage advice for anything from losing unwanted pounds to keeping your cool under pressure. Could it be that human’s most effective mental and physical health device lies with their two feet? Walking offers considerable benefits for every aspect of your life, mind, body and spirit. Here are eight reasons why walking is the best for your health and why you should make a point to take a hike today. Let this be the push you need to lace up your sneakers!
1. You Socialize
Even before the pandemic, over half of all adults reported regularly feeling lonely. Unfortunately, this mental state can erode your health and lead to increased mortality risks from all causes. Prolonged social isolation contributes to heart disease, stroke, suicide — the list stretches endlessly.
However, when you visit your favorite park or neighborhood circuit every day, you form bonds with your neighbors and get to exchange pleasantries. The best part is that you can get as much or as little interaction as you like — after all, you’re exercising and have a built-in excuse to keep moving. You can even join a walking club to chat and socialize while logging your miles.
2. You Enjoy Nature
If you enjoy hiking or camping, you’ve probably noticed that you feel better mentally and physically after returning from an excursion. Those benefits aren’t just in your mind. Research studies indicate even gazing at pictures of nature lowers stress levels — imagine what immersing yourself in the forest can do.
You might increase your ability to fight germs, too. Research published by the National Institute of Health indicates that forest-bathing participants have a higher number and activity in natural killer cells, which actively fight infections. The stress-relieving benefits alone also help ward off colds as your immune system functions more effectively when it isn’t under pressure.
3. You Raise Your Heart Rate
Heart disease remains the number one killer of both men and women, not only in the U.S. but worldwide, according to the World Health Organization (WHO). So if you want to keep this smooth muscle pumping, you need to use it. Walking is the perfect low-impact way to increase your heart rate without dropping a bunch of money on a gym membership or app. The best part? All you need is a set of sneakers.
You might not need to walk as much as you think. While previous folk wisdom recommended getting 10,000 steps a day, that figure was based on one pedometer manufacturer’s guesstimate.
New scientific evidence from the American Medical Association shows that increasing your daily step number reduces mortality, but the effect levels off at 7,500 steps. This figure more closely aligns with the World Health Organization’s recommendation of 150 minutes of moderate exercise each week.
4. You Engage Your Largest Muscle Groups
Your glutes, which comprise your buttocks, are your body’s largest muscle group, followed by your quads and your calves. You work all three while walking, creating another reason why the activity is the best for your health. Why? When you use your body’s largest muscles, you burn more calories while elevating your heart rate more quickly. The result is an all-over toning burn that torches fat and increases your endurance.
5. You Maintain a Healthier Weight
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), over 40% of American adults are obese, and even more fall into the overweight category. Too many excess pounds increase heart disease, stroke and diabetes risk.
Walking burns calories, helping you maintain a healthy weight. Physical exercise can also naturally regulate your appetite when done in moderation.
6. You Improve Balance and Coordination
Falls cause considerable disability among older adults. It can take anywhere from six months to a year to recover from a hip fracture. That’s a long time to sit on the disabled list.
Walking helps you increase your balance and coordination. When you feel more comfortable moving your body through space, you’re less prone to accidental clumsiness.
7. You Improve Focus and Concentration
Have you ever spent forever puzzling over a challenging problem, only to have the answer magically appear after you gave up and walked away for a bit? Your best productivity boosters may be in your feet, not your head.
Walking increases oxygen-rich blood flow to your neurons. Plus, letting your subconscious do the heavy lifting for a while can sometimes lead to breakthroughs.
8. You Improve Your Mood and Decrease Stress
Sometimes, you have to walk away to keep from raising your voice or saying something you don’t mean when an argument makes your blood boil. Walking can tame your physiological responses to stressful circumstances, enabling you to see the situation from a more neutral, problem-solving perspective.
Long-term stress can wreak havoc on your overall ability to concentrate. A daily walking program helps to control your stress-hormone levels so that you can focus more effectively on your other tasks.
Walking Is the Best for Your Health
Walking is the best for your health for the eight reasons above, so lce up those tennis shoes and hit the pavement or trail today!
