Walking has a lot of benefits for your health. Like burning calories, strengthening your joints, and preventing heart disease.
It is not just good for your physical health, but also your mental health. Walking can improve your mood and make you happier.
As we know, walking is a low-impact exercise and can be done by people of all ages.
So, what are the health benefits of brisk walking? Keep reading the following review to find out more.
The Benefits of Brisk Walking for Physical Health
Walking is often chosen by many people because it is easy to do. In fact, without realizing it, you are already doing it every day. This exercise does not require a lot of equipment. You only need running shoes or even just comfortable shoes for walking, and set aside about 30 minutes.
Here are the benefits of brisk walking for both physical and mental health that you should know.
1. Boosts Energy
Did you know that morning walking can boost your energy levels? It is considered more effective than drinking a cup of coffee. Walking increases oxygen flow throughout the body.
Additionally, brisk walking can increase levels of cortisol, epinephrine, and norepinephrine, hormones that help boost energy.
2. Burning Calories
The benefits of brisk walking in the morning or evening can certainly help you burn calories in your body. Burning calories is useful for losing or maintaining weight.
Factors that influence calorie burning include walking speed, distance traveled, body weight, and terrain (more calories will be burned if you walk on an uphill road compared to a flat road).
That is why, if you want to burn calories maximally, you can walk on a route that includes hills, alternating between fast and slow paces. Then challenge yourself to walk the same route on different days to see if you can go faster than before.
3. Strengthening the Heart
Walking for at least 30 minutes a day for five days a week can reduce your risk of coronary heart disease by approximately 19%. This risk can decrease further as you increase the duration or distance of your daily walks.
Furthermore, other studies indicate that people who walk enough to meet physical activity guidelines have a 30% lower risk of developing cardiovascular diseases such as heart attacks or strokes compared to those who do not walk regularly.
4. Relieves Joint Pain
Next, the benefits of brisk walking in the afternoon or morning are that it can relieve joint pain. This is because exercise can help lubricate and strengthen the muscles that support the joints.
Several studies also mention that walking can reduce pain in people with arthritis. Walking about 8-9 km a week can even prevent arthritis.
5. Helping Lower Blood Sugar
High blood sugar and blood pressure are risk factors for chronic diseases such as diabetes, heart disease, and stroke. Walking can improve glucose absorption into muscles, thereby lowering blood glucose levels.
For this reason, the American Diabetes Association recommends this activity to lower blood sugar and reduce the risk of developing diabetes.
6. Improving Mood
Not only for physical health, the benefits of walking in the morning or evening are also good for your mental health! According to research, it can reduce anxiety, depression, and bad moods. Another study shows that brisk walking for 10 minutes can boost your spirits.
A good mood or positive mindset will surely make your days feel more positive and productive.
7. Enhances Digestion
Light physical activity, such as walking after meals, can help improve digestion.
This helps food move more quickly into the stomach. A 10–15 minute walk after eating is sufficient, and avoid sitting immediately afterward.
8. Boosting Creativity
When you feel stuck at work or are seeking solutions to complex problems, try taking a short walk. A study suggests that walking can stimulate creativity.
Researchers administered creative thinking tests to subjects while they were sitting and walking. The results showed that walkers had more creative thoughts than those who remained seated.
9. Extending Life
This benefit of brisk walking may be unknown to many people. Walking for every minute can extend a person’s life by 1.5 to 2 minutes. A study found that walking at an average pace compared to a slow pace can reduce the risk of death by 20%.
However, walking at a brisk pace, at least 4 miles per hour, can reduce the risk by up to 24%. This study examined the relationship between walking faster and factors such as overall causes of death, cardiovascular disease, and cancer-related deaths.
10. Aiding Digestion
Aiding digestion is also one of the many health benefits of walking. After eating, try to avoid lying down or sitting immediately afterward. This can disrupt the functioning of your digestive system.
Instead of sleeping or sitting, it is better to take a short walk to aid digestion. Additionally, walking after eating can help improve glucose absorption into the muscles, which in turn lowers blood sugar levels.
11. Strengthening Thigh and Calf Muscles
One of the benefits of brisk walking in the evening or morning that should not be overlooked is that it can strengthen thigh and calf muscles. You certainly do not want to have flabby thighs due to fat, do you? Therefore, you can exercise by walking to improve the appearance of your thighs and calves.
12. Improving Sleep Quality
Regular exercise can help you sleep more soundly at night. This is because sleep naturally increases the effects of melatonin, the sleep hormone.
Recent research found that healthy adults who walk daily have a significant positive impact on sleep quality and duration. Additionally, walking can help reduce pain and stress that may cause sleep disturbances.
Those are the benefits of brisk walking for physical and mental health that you can experience. The most important thing is to do it regularly to maximize the benefits.
In addition to brisk walking, to maintain good health, it is important to ensure your body stays properly hydrated, such as by drinking #AQUADULU in sufficient amounts. Especially during exercise, the body tends to lose a lot of fluids. Let's replace those fluids with high-quality mineral water from selected springs like AQUA!
Bring an AQUA bottle to keep yourself hydrated during your evening and morning walks!
