Benefits of Walking: 10 Reasons You Should Start a Daily Walking Practice
Physical movement and activity is necessary for healthy living. However, it’s not necessary to be a long distance runner, cross fit enthusiast, or aspiring marathon competitor in order to maintain a healthy lifestyle. Although high intensity workouts, pushing one’s limits, and strength training contain their own benefits and can be a part of a good fitness routine for many individuals, there are other low intensity ways to incorporate movement into your life that still have multiple benefits especially if done consistently. One of the most popular and accessible forms of exercise to maintain a healthy way of living is walking.
Walking is completely free, can be done at any fitness level, and is easy to fit into a daily routine. With there being so many benefits, it is the perfect and most simple form of movement to add to your day. Continue reading for 10 reasons you should start a daily walking practice today.
1. Improves your mental health
Walking for 30 minutes per day, especially outside, can lift your mood and improve your mental health in powerful ways. Walking has been known to improve cognitive functioning by positively impacting memory, problem-solving skills, and attention span. Walking also has been shown to reduce experiences of depression and anxiety. In fact, walking has been said to be just as effective as antidepressant medications for some individuals. Walking with a friend can promote healthy friendships and relationships and combat mental health challenges related to isolation and loneliness. And getting out for a walk especially without a phone can increase your capacity and ability to be creative. It’s amazing how many new ideas and inspiration come up when the mood is lifted and distractions are put away for a time!
2. Improves your energy levels
Although it may seem that moving your body in any way would reduce your energy levels because you’re expending energy, this is actually not the case with walking. Walking helps you to feel more energized because it boosts your circulation, ensuring that more nutrients and oxygen reach your muscles and organs. It also causes your body to release endorphins which naturally boosts your mood and energy. Walking helps to reduce fatigue and allows for better sleep quality which improves your energy as a result as well. Walking also helps to regulate cortisol (your stress hormone) and boost metabolism which both affect energy levels. So as you can see, there are MANY reasons walking positively impacts energy. The next time you’re feeling tired, try walking instead of grabbing another cup of coffee to see how it works for you!
3. Reduces inflammation
Inflammation can be a serious problem if not addressed and can contribute to diseases such as cancer, cardiovascular disease, type II diabetes, Alzheimer’s disease, autoimmune diseases, obesity, and other infectious diseases such as AIDS/HIV. Inflammation can also be the cause of various forms of pain and discomfort in the body, issues with digestion, poor skin conditions, and other symptoms anywhere from headaches to a stuffy nose. Inflammation can truly take a toll on the body! But walking can help in reducing inflammation and its effects over time. Walking reduces inflammation by…
- Enhancing circulation and blood flow to remove waste from the body
- Reduces body fat, especially visceral fat (which produces inflammatory cytokines)
- Promotes anti-inflammatory cytokines
- Reduces insulin resistance which is associated with higher inflammation
- Lowers stress levels due to endorphins, resulting in lower stress-related inflammation
- Regulates immune response which reduces chronic inflammation
4. Burns calories
Walking at any pace, but especially at a brisk pace, burns calories which contributes to weight management or weight loss depending on your personal goals. A brisk 30 minute walk burns approximately 200 calories, but the amount of calories burned can vary based on the type of terrain you’re walking in (for example, hiking or walking up hills or stairs can burn more calories), how far you walk, the pace of your walk, your current body composition, etc. If you’re looking to lose weight or develop a weight management regimen, consider adding walking to your daily routine!
5. Promotes cardiovascular health
Walking strengthens the heart and can reduce the risk of coronary heart disease by approximately 19% if done for 30 minutes, five days a week. The risk of cardiovascular disease can be reduced even further with an increase in time or distance in walking. Having a healthy heart is essential for overall health and longevity, so this is a benefit of regular walking that can’t be ignored.
6. Strengthens your immune system
Walking can strengthen your immune system for several reasons:
- Regular exercise, such as walking, promotes a healthy gut microbiome which builds a stronger immune system
- Consistent walking helps to regulate the immune system by preventing overreactions to harmless substances and underreactions to harmful substances
- Walking improves sleep quality which is essential for immune health
- Regular physical activity increases the production of immune cells which helps in fighting off infections
- Walking addresses inflammation in the body which positively impacts immune responses
- Walking helps to stimulate the lymphatic system which aids in transporting toxins and immune cells
- Consistent walking lowers stress hormones which helps improve immune health
- Regular movement promotes increased blood flow which results in an increase in immune cell circulation
If you want to reduce your chances of catching a cold or want to limit to duration or severity of an illness, incorporate walking into your daily schedule!
7. Improves sleep
Mentioned multiple times throughout this post already is the fact that walking helps to improve sleep. Expending energy, reducing stress levels, being exposed to natural light especially in the morning (if walking outside), lifting the mood, and increasing and then decreasing body temperature all help to improve sleep quality. If sleep quality is an area of your health that could use improvement, try walking especially outside if you can!
8. Relieves joint pain
Walking helps to strengthen muscles around various joints in the body which helps in reducing strains. Walking also keeps the joints lubricated by producing synovial fluid, minimizing overall friction. With these factors and the fact that weight can be lost or managed by walking and inflammation can be reduced (a big factor in joint pain), this is a great exercise for joint comfort and care leading to a better quality of life.
9. Promotes longevity
Because of all the benefits of daily walking listed already (cardiovascular health, improved sleep, minimizing joint pain, weight management, better immune health, reduced inflammation, improved mental health), you could imagine that regular walking has the ability to positively impact overall longevity. Brisk or fast paced walking in particular has been discovered to reduce the risk of death by 20-24%. Want to extend your life expectancy? Start a daily walking practice!
10. It's fun
Walking can be an incredibly fun and fulfilling part of your day. You can walk on a treadmill at a gym while listening to your favorite podcast/music or while talking to a friend. You can get a walking pad for your home or office so that you can work or watch your favorite show while getting in a good workout. You have endless opportunities to enjoy nature if you walk outside as well. I currently live in Colorado Springs, CO, so there are so many beautiful places to walk from parks, to hikes, to forest trails, to beautiful neighborhoods, to the Manitou Incline. If you like variety in your workouts, you can easily change up your environment or terrain!
Final Thoughts
Making time for a daily walk is so beneficial for your health and happiness, whether you fit in one 30+ minute walk per day or a few 10-15 minute walks throughout the day. If you want to see improvement in your mental health, body composition, joint pain, inflammation, immune system, sleep quality, or energy levels, give walking a try! You may just have fun while improving your overall health and well-being.
Have you developed a daily walking practice? What benefits have you noticed personally or are your favorites? Let me know in the comments…
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