Want to Remain Healthy and Fit, Go For a Walk

• Do you have any health complications like blood pressure or diabetes?
• Do you have a weight problem?
• Do you suffer from depression, stress, anxiety?
• Do you have mood swings, nervous breakdown, or other emotional issues?

Walk! Keep walking!

Walking is the best thing you can do for physical health, mental health, and emotional health.

Walking is the simplest yet the most effective physical exercise to keep you healthy and fit, avoid getting health complications, and live a long life. The first and foremost benefit of walking in the early hours is a pleasant experience in itself. One can see the breathtaking nature available in the wee hours of the day. This helps increase the amount of dopamine, the happy hormone, in our body. For a lot of people walking is a fun activity because when they are walking happy hormone begins to secret. The happy hormone enhances the walker’s mood. Walking acts as health support for a lot of diseases like heart disease, diabetes, obesity, etc. When you walk, your lipid profile will reduce, hypertension will be controlled, your blood sugar will lower, and you will bur a lot of fats accumulated internal organs like the liver, and bowels.

The studies at Center for Disease Control and Prevention reveal that heart disease is the number one killer the world over. The studies further show that walking as little as 30 minutes a day can reduce the risk of heart disease by 40 or even more percent. According to another research, when you combine walking with a healthy diet, you you save yourself from a lot of diseases like heat dease, obesity, diabetes, stress, anxiety etc.

You save a lot of money by walking

The study further says the mind-boggling medical expenses involved in health care will come down drastically by going for a regular walk. Walking as a healthy activity has not only been touted by modern physicians, even the great Ayurveda doctors from ancient India have highlighted the benefits of walking. For example, Sushruta and Charak (Great Indian Ayurvedic researchers of Ancient times) also highlighted the benefits of walking in details. They explained how good walking exercise could prove with a plethora of health benefits.

Benefits of walking

I am a fan of walking for physical health, mental health, and emotional wellbeing. I have been walking regularly since almost 15 years. I have walked in many countries on different walking paths. There are various reasons you should walk regularly.

Walking is an easy exercise. There is no doubt about that. However, walking is also a fun activity. You can go walking just to enjoy nature. Do you realize that you can also go for a walk with your boss, client, colleagues, spouse, kids to discuss important matters? Discussing something important under the open skies ensures a pleasant atmosphere far better than dazzlingly lit and air-conditioned conference rooms. This way you can get the best of the two worlds. Additionally, walking prompts the release of endorphins and serotonin, hormones that help you to stay calm and contented.

Numerous scientific studies have suggested that hormones like Endorphins, Dopamine, Oxytocin, and Serotonin are related to happiness. When these hormones are released, human beings tend to be happy. Walking ease the release of these happy hormones.

When you wanl, you don’t feel lonely, as you can brood on your thoughts or even listen to music on your hand held device.

Social benefits

It’s a common fact that you come across new people from different backgrounds when you go walking. Walking is a great way to connect with like-minded people and build new relationships. First it starts with a smile, followed by a nod, then verbal wishing ultimately leading to an exchange of opinions and views on a wide variety of subjects. And everything happens while you are still walking. It sure is an enriching experience for your mental health too!

Don’t care about the myths

A lot of people do not actually know much about walking. They tend to believe that you don’t perspire while walking. Since you do not sweat, walking does not burn calories. While walking, your breathing or heart rate also does not substantially increase, therefore, you do not get proper exercise, thus, walking does not tone up muscles and organs. However, these are some of the widely held beliefs about walking. There have been a lot of studies that have established that walking is better than running or jogging if you want to improve your fitness, heart health, or even control diabetes.

The Right Time for Walking: When Should you go for a Walking?

Go for a walk whenever you can. In other words, you can walk in the morning, in the afternoon, or evening. You can go for a walk before breakfast, or after lunch or dinner. There is no such time as the right time. While going for a walk when the streets are not yet crowded (early in the morning), can be very relaxing, you can get the same benefits when you walk after having lunch. Instead of sitting relaxed with your stomach full, if you go for a walk, extra calories will not accumulate as fats.

How Long Should You Walk?

Well, you do get benefits of walking even when you walk for a few days, however, you should make walking your regular habit. If you cannot walk every day, you can try walking every alternate days, or if you cannot even manage for alternative day walking, you can walk in the weekends. If you are battling with diabetes or heart diseases, you should walk 60 minutes every day. Your conditions will improve. You should walk 60 minutes, if you are trying to lose weight. However, if you are walking just because you are health conscious, 25-30 minutes of daily walking is ok.

Walking is the best way to remain healthy and fit. Walking is good for your vital organs, bodily systems, as well as mental and emotional health.