So, lowered blood pressure, less joint pressure, a decreased risk of stroke and an opportunity to keep excess weight at bay not enough to get you walking? How about a better night’s sleep, decreased stress, a better memory and less depression?
While walking boasts a number of physical benefits, it also can give the brain mental boosts as well. Some examples of the emotional benefits of exercise:
Walking slows mental decline. A study of 6,000 women, ages 65 and older, performed by researchers at the University of California, San Francisco, found that age-related memory decline was lower in those who walked more. The women walking 2.5 miles per day had a 17-percent decline in memory, as opposed to a 25-percent decline in women who walked less than a half-mile per week.
Walking lowers Alzheimer’s risk. A study from the University of Virginia Health System in Charlottesville found that men between the ages of 71 and 93 who walked more than a quarter of a mile per day had half the incidence of dementia and Alzheimer’s disease, compared to those who walked less.
Walking improves sleep. A study from the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center in Seattle found that women, ages 50 to 75, who took one-hour morning walks, were more likely to relieve insomnia than women who didn’t walk.
Walking lightens mood. Research reported in the British Journal of Sports Medicine found that walking 30 minutes a day boosted the moods in depressed patients faster than antidepressants. Why? Walking releases natural painkilling endorphins to the body – one of the emotional benefits of exercise. A California State University, Long Beach, study showed that the more steps people took during the day, the better their moods were.
Besides these mental benefits of walking, it also serves as a form of meditation. An outdoor stroll can help erase a bad day as you instead start to focus on the surrounding environment. Carolyn S. Kortge began walking in the ’80s and entered her first race-walking competition in the ’90s, eventually becoming a USA Track and Field Association bronze and silver race-walking medalist. Carolyn, who lives in Eugene, Ore., was diagnosed with osteoarthritis in 2004, but continues to keep her mind off the pain in her knees and hands by walking daily.
“When you’re walking there’s an opportunity for meditative intent. You can be silent and focus on creating a connection with your body through prayer, breathing or a phrase,” she says. “It’s a wonderful way of changing your focus.”
for all the information available to us!
Next year I hope to be teaching this wonderful form of exercise at the ripe old age of 67.
RA is a very painful form of Arthritis and you must keep moving.
So...get out there and do some walking it will help you...maybe some Tai Chi.
Glory God
i walk almost everyday and the enjoyment of walking is unparallel.
Pete
how am I suposed to get out and exercise.
Now I am as fit as I was 15 years earlier.
I highly appreciate your article and hope this helps all the elderly people who really need it.
My Golden Retriever Molly is my faithful campainion and she loves to go for walks.
I pushed myself out the door and we walked to the end of our road, where there is a Old Homestead. On the way, I noticed the Pussy Willows were just starting to bud out. Walking improved my mood and I enjoyed discovering the awakening of Spring. Life is Good, even when it's a difficult day. One day at a time, walking helps me cope and enjoy Life.
I have heard many of the members saying how hard it is to come "inside" to work out when it is so beautiful outside. So this inspired me to start a walking class two days a week.
The classes has grown and I am now adding two more classes for those who would like to walk 3-4 miles. No matter what the weather, we keep on walking.
Where I live it is very safe because it is under cover from the weather, as well as on a second floor deck with well lighted porch lights throughout.
I look forward every night to this little, but healthy, habit.
Pat
Thank you.
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