The tie between exercise and body is about more than physical appearance, and walking improves more than just muscle tone. Take a look at the whole-body benefits of walking:
HEAD/BRAIN: Improves mood: increases mood-enhancing neurotransmitters and reduces the stress hormone cortisol, helping you feel less anxious or sad. Benefits of walking may also include a decreased risk of Alzheimer’s disease, age-related dementia and stroke.
EYE: Wards off glaucoma: reduces the pressure inside the eye, which lowers your chance of developing glaucoma.
CHEST: Lowers blood pressure: makes your heart pump faster, which speeds blood flow and relaxes arteries so that blood pressure decreases – and so does risk of heart attack or stroke.
SPINE: Relieves back pain: strengthens core muscles of back and abdomen, which reduces back pain.
HIP: Reduces hip fracture: Walking is a weight-bearing exercise, and benefits of walking include strengthening muscles and bones, which wards off osteoporosis and reduces chance of fracture, and shifting pressure from joints to strong muscles, reducing arthritis pain.
KNEES: Keeps joints lubricated: Movement increases the production of synovial fluid, which keeps knees lubricated and decreases pain and stiffness.
LEG: Lowers risk of blood clots: helps calf muscles squeeze deep veins and keep blood pumping freely back to the heart.
FOOT: Reduces load on joints: helps lower or maintain body weight, reducing stress on feet, knees and hips.
ARM: Strengthens arm muscles: pumping your arms as you walk tones muscles—and helps you walk faster, thus burning more calories.
NOSE: Makes you breathe better: breathing rate increases, causing oxygen to travel faster through bloodstream, helping to eliminate waste products and improve energy level and ability to heal.
