Your body reaps the benefits of walking sooner than you'd think. Here's how each step gets you closer to good health, according to today’s leading medical associations.
Sources: American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, Journal of American Medical Association, American Journal of Health
We are all aware that walking is good for you and now we have broken it down for you so you can equate just how much better walking is. So below are some tips on just how a small amount of walking can still benefit you.
Walking just one minute, briskly, makes you more likely to have a waist circumference 4 cm smaller than someone who sits all day.
Walking two minutes activates the genes responsible for metabolizing fat and carbohydrates in your body and activates anti-inflammatory signals as well.
Taking a brisk walk for 3 minutes can actually lower your blood pressure and also the triglycerides levels after eating a meal.
Walking for 5 minutes was shown in the study to improve a person's self-esteem by 46% and your mood by up to 54%
Walking for 6 minutes can help your memory and logic faculties for older adults.
Walking for 5 – 10 minutes can increase the creative thought processes and put you in a better frame of mind.
A 15-minute walk after a meal significantly lowers your blood pressure and can reduce the risk of diabetes
Walking for 20 minutes can increase bone density in post-menopausal women.
Walking for 30 minutes can improve your day to day outlook on the way you feel. Walking for 30 minutes can relieve symptoms of depression as effectively as prescribed anti-depressants, and can reduce the risks of strokes by as much as 30%. Consistently walking for those 30 minutes can over time enable you to lose 5-6 lbs of weight, depending on your walking speed.
A brisk walk for 40 minutes can reduce the risks of coronary heart disease in men over 50 years of age by half.
A 50 – 60-minute walks helps to reduce inflammation and cell damage in older adults. So while when you first start out with your walking and you feel sore after, remember the more you do, the more your body will adapt to the new strain you're subjecting it to. So don’t stop, keep going and you’ll be surprised how your stamina will increase.
A 90-minute walk can put you in the right state of mind. It can decrease depressive thoughts while also reducing activity in the brain linked to developing mental illness.
Walking for 150 minutes can substantially help in weight reduction. This along with a proper diet will not only get you in better overall health. But eating the proper diet will help you lose the weight faster and provide you with the fuel your body’s furnace needs to meet your new walking challenge. This amount of walking can burn up to 650 calories in an average adult, weighing 165Lbs.
Walking for 240 minutes or 4 hours a week can actually help to reduce hip fractures, which are one of the most common injuries in older adults by as much as 43% in men and if your weekly walk walking excursions come in at 450 minutes (7.5 hours, which is less than a full day of actual work) you can add an additional 4.5 years onto your life.
So if you look at all of the above, and you’re not making walking a part of your exercise routine. Can we ask you WHY NOT??? Get on those walking shoes, then, strap on a pedometer, just so you can keep track of your steps, distance and the time your investing in your new YOU. And get yourself moving, right now!