Walking your way to better health and wellbeing

Discover how walking regularly can improve your mental health, reduce stress and boost your general wellbeing. When we look to improve our general health and wellbeing, most of us are quick to imagine hot, sweaty gyms, or pounding the pavements like something out of a ‘Rocky’ film. Yes, exercise is a key element to becoming and staying healthy. Hitting the gym every single day, however, isn't a necessity. You can, in fact, achieve a number of health benefits from just walking every day, and without it taking up too much of your day. We all live busy lives and finding time to join an exercise class or get to the gym is difficult. A simple morning strut or evening stroll, however, can be enough to reap the rewards and access the health benefits of walking.

Half-hour happiness

30 minutes of walking is all you need to start building your health and wellbeing. These 30 minutes of walking would need to be tailored to your specific health and fitness goals. If you're looking to build muscle or compete in endurance competitions, then adapting your workout to meet these aims is necessary. If you're looking to build momentum and become fit and healthy, though, then a 30-minute walk is suitable. Whilst spending 30 minutes walking outside, you also benefit from the fresh air and a hit of vitamin D from the sunshine, both of which are essential for your health. Furthermore, you also become more connected with the earth and your surroundings, which is imperative for your mental health.

Mental health matters

Exercise in general has been found to improve symptoms of mental ill health. Walking specifically, however, has so many additional benefits to our mental health. Daily walking helps to reduce symptoms of mental ill health, while it also acts as a preventative measure to daily stresses, strains, and anxieties. Walking improves self-perception and self-esteem, mood, and sleep quality, and it reduces stress, anxiety and fatigue. Physically active people can reduce their risk of becoming depressed by up to 30%, and staying active helps those who are depressed recover more quickly.

Reduce comfort eating

Of course, we all get cravings, and some of us enjoy some sweet treats in the evenings. When under stress, tension and pressure, we often turn to food to manage how we feel. Cravings result from spikes and drops in blood sugar levels, which lead to our body demanding a food that is high in sugar or carbohydrates to counteract these extremities. The downside of this is that too much sugar or fat contributes to weight gain. The best way to beat cravings is to go for a walk. Walking in the early morning or after dinner in the evening helps to prevent stress eating and breaks the need for sweet treats. In summary, a daily walk will help you to control cravings, regulate your metabolism and release built-up tension and stress, reducing the need to comfort eat.

Walking the weight off

Again, when we think of losing weight or burning body fat, we often think of sweating for hours on the treadmill or in the weights area. Of course, this isn't suitable for all of us, especially with the problems this can cause to joints and ligaments due to higher impact exercise. In this case, walking provides a lower impact option and dare we say it, a gentler form of exercise to combat body fat. Brisk walking for at least 30 minutes mobilises the body to dip into fat reserves and burn stored fat. It's especially effective for burning internal belly fat, known as visceral fat, that not only contributes to the waistline but also raises the risk for diabetes and heart disease.

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Immune system reboot

Whilst being restricted by COVID-19 regulations over the past year, we have heard a lot about boosting our immune system to help reduce our risk of illness and viruses in particular. As lockdown reduces its grip, we all have the opportunity to get out and walk ourselves well. Walking for 30 minutes a day has been found to boost our immune cell production and circulation. In turn, the more cells we have the better protected we are against disease and viruses. Walking can also help protect you during cold and flu season. A study of over 1,000 men and women found that those who walked at least 30 minutes a day, at least 5 days a week, had 43% fewer sick days than those who exercised once a week or less.

Sugar check

Research suggests that walking (an aerobic exercise) develops your body’s ability to use insulin more efficiently. If you are in a high-risk group of developing diabetes or indeed are already diagnosed with the condition, then a brisk walk after each meal can very much support your body with regulating your blood sugar levels. Incorporating a walk into your daily routine should be your go-to regime to help recover from and prevent diabetes-related illnesses. Whether you have the condition or not, walking helps to keep your sugar levels in check.

Reduce signs of ageing

As we get older, our ability to be mobile decreases, and our physical limitations prevent us from doing the things we once could. Or so we think. For many of us, it's all in the mind. Walking every day helps build resilience against physical ill health and disabilities. By adding a 30-minute walk to your daily routine, you can help turn the tables on ageing and fend off the signs of limited mobility.

Use it or lose it - Walking

Walking also helps to keep the body supple, mobile and well stretched. This in turn helps to strengthen your body against injury or impact. If you don’t use it, you lose it, and that very much is the case for muscle mass and supporting ligaments and tendons. Daily walking helps to prepare your body for the stresses and strains of life. Walking allows you to take a proactive approach to your health and wellbeing, rather than a reactive one. If you haven't started walking yet, then there is no better time than now, and you can still reap the health benefits at any age, and any time!

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