Benefits to walking 20 minutes a day
Covid is changing everyone’s life and lifestyle. Gyms have reopened but the threat of germs still has some people feeling reluctant to return. Sitting at home has contributed to people gaining some extra pounds, losing motivation, and increasing stress. It is important now, more than ever, to make sure we take care of ourselves and maintain a healthy weight. A great way to get back into the swing of things is walking! Yes, walking 20 minutes every day.
5 Benefits Provided by Daily 20 Minute Walks
Cardiovascular:
Many think that to lose weight they need to hit the pavement at a sprint. Studies have shown that an out-of-shape individual running is, in some cases, harder on the heart than walking. Walking benefits the heart. Recently, there was a study published by the AHA journal that found that a brisk walk provides some of the same benefits as running does for lowering three risk factors:
- Development of heart disease-blood -pressure
- Cholesterol levels
- Diabetes/Glucose levels
A daily 20-minute walk has been shown to reduce the risk of heart attack by 30%
Mood:
A study form California State University has shown that the more steps a person takes during the day, the better their mood is. Feelings of euphoria and happiness are a result of endorphins being released, which can come from exercise. For extra mood-boosting benefits, take a stroll outdoors. For extra mood-boosting benefits, take a stroll outside! The copious amounts of Vitamin D from getting out in the sun (be sure to put on sunscreen) can help to reduce the likelihood of depression and its symptoms.
Slimming down:
A routine of brisk walking, combined with healthier eating habits, can be enormously effective in helping to lose weight, as it will aid in burning off those extra calories. One big advantage of walking is that it can drastically help to reduce belly fat, or visceral fat, which is very detrimental to your health.
If time is a factor, and you simply don’t have enough of it, try to add extra steps to your usual regimen. Take the long way back from the copier. Make multiple trips for mail, trash, and recycling. Wearing a fitness/step tracker is a fantastic way to track your personal progress and to keep yourself accountable. In the beginning, perform your daily routine so that you may set up a baseline. From there, set small goals to ramp up your number of daily steps. You’ll be at 3,000, 5,000, even 10,000 before you know it!
Sleep
Exercise provides a boost of your body’s natural sleep hormones, like melatonin, which can help you doze off faster and get better sleep. At the Harvard University School of Medicine, researchers conducted a study of exercise’s effects on sleep. Their findings showed that people who got 20 to 30 minutes of moderate (not strenuous!) exercise each day fell asleep twice as fast and slept, on average, one hour longer than those who didn’t exercise.
For more information, this is a great read: 5 Health Benefits of Walking: 20 Minutes a Day Makes a Difference – ThinkHealth (priorityhealth.com)
GRAB A LOVED ONE AND GO WALK!!!