Take a Walk
Unless you live in a sparsely populated rural area, you probably have a few places where you regularly go that are within a mile from your home. It’s also probably true that you’ve gotten in the car to drive someplace that is less than 5 blocks away. If you are able-bodied enough to walk, the following may add some precious time to your life and help you to relax.
Take a Walk!
This is for everyone, but especially those of you that live in the city where everything moves at a rapid pace. Walking is an activity that benefits mind, body, and spirit. It gives your brain a rhythmic pattern to follow, which helps you to process thoughts and relax. Your body works from head to toe to move, balance, react, stop, dance, and whatever else you feel like doing, and movement keeps muscles in shape and loosens you up. And, if you let the experience take you there, using your senses to take it all in makes you feel more in sync with your surroundings.
Research: Europe
An article in The Express Tribune discusses a study conducted at the University of Cambridge that analyzed over 334,000 European men and women. In short, they found that the exercise equivalent of a 20 minute daily walk can significantly cut the risk of early death. The benefits were highest for people with a normal BMI, but a benefit was still seen for those with a higher BMI.
It’s Easy to Start
So you’re convinced and now you want to walk for your health, but walking for 20 minutes every day sounds like an impossible task. You think you don’t have the time. It’s okay, because the study talks about the “equivalent” of a 20 minute walk per day. You can just find ways to walk more during the day.
Take a day or two to evaluate what you do at home and work.Chances are that you have a few minutes here and there that are idle. Instead of sitting down to meet with a colleague, have your discussion while walking, for one example. You can manage 5 minutes to walk up and down the street before and after work, and you probably already walk the other 10 minutes here and there. If you have children, taking them for a walk releases some of their energy and will help to calm them down on especially high-strung days.
If you start walking this week, you will notice a difference in your health within a week. In less than a month you will form a habit of walking and will even look forward to spending more time doing it.