For many of us is, walking is simply an every day activity taking many forms. From walking the dog, to walking to the shops, walking to the train station and other such daily tasks. Some of us belong to walking clubs and for others it s an olympic event. Apart from helping us get to where we need to go, walking may have a positive impact on our digestion, our hearts, our mental health and even our weight.
Improving Digestion
Many of us have been told at some point in our lives, not to walk straight after a meal as it will cause a stomach ache, tiredness and other bodily discomforts. For some this is true and it is always important to listen to your body and not to put yourself in situations that bring about adverse symptoms.
However for many who don’t experience adverse symptoms, walking after a meal may stimulate the stomach and intestine enabling food to move through the digestive systems a lot faster, and thus potentially reducing symptoms such as bloating and constipation
Losing Weight
If average person walks a mile at a steady brisk pace, they will walk a mile in approximately 20 minutes. This can equate to burning approximately 100 calories. If the brisk walking continues for 30 minutes that may mean burning approximately 150 calories which can typically is 7-8% of daily calorie intake.
Further, walking within 30 minutes after a meal aims to suppress glucose before it insulin is secreted in the body. Once insulin is released there is a chance the glucose will store as fat potentially aiding weight gain. Thus walking aims to prevent this happening.
Improving Mood
The act of walking helps to reduce our stress hormones, in particular cortisol. When cortisol is low not only does that help strengthen our immune suite, but it may be linked with better mood, reduced irritability and depressed feelings. At the same time walking may help our brains produce endorphins, which are ‘feel good’ neuro transmitters that contribute towards elevated mood.
Lowering Blood Pressure
The act of walking may help reduce the stiffness in our blood cells enabling our blood to flow better. In people with diagnosed hypertension, walking may see improvements in both systolic and diastolic readings. For those with pre hypertension, walking may help decrease diastolic readings.
Best Time to Walk
There is a lot of conflicting advice about when is the best time to walk to reap the health benefits. Should it be straight after eating? After 15 minutes? 30 minutes? One hour?
The reality is we are all unique and our individual needs will to some degree determine the type of exercise we should do. Overall however including a 20-30 minute brisk and constant walk as part of your daily routine aims to provide each of us with a number of health benefits.
For those that can not walk
For wheelchair users, walking is not an option, but movement still plays an important role in health. Depending on individual physical limitations a range of exercises may prove beneficial including actions such as back extension, spinal twists and side bends. It is important to seek advice from a medical professional, including a physio or osteopath or GP, before embarking on any exercises to ensure that they are being done correctly without causing potential damage.
For anyone who is able to walk but can only do so for a couple of minutes – do just that. Aim to build up slowly over time to 5 minutes but doing a 1-2 minutes daily for a few days. Once 5 minutes is achieved slowly aim to build up to 10 and so forth until 20-30 minutes of walking is achieved.