Every day, new research establishes links between brain health and working out. A growing relationship between working out and reducing the chances of dementia, Alzheimer’s, cancer, heart disease, and obesity, and even reducing the speed of ageing, has stimulated a vast increase in the number of peoplewho work out every day and maintain a healthy lifestyle. With so many benefits to a simple 20–30-minute period of elevated heart rate, it’s probably time for you to include working out in your routine, too.
Working out, however, is still a mental roadblock for most of us. Sometimes, we need help figuring out where to start or what to do. Working out, doing cardio, and lifting weights for us Indians is a challenge to our traditional mindset, where most of our needs for exercise are met by daily chores and commuting on foot, a mindset perpetrated by our elders. That was true until 30 years ago, but with the support of technology in every field, we have become very comfortable and passive. Therefore, working out must be incorporated slowly into our daily routines.
A great way to do that is by doing the simplest yet most understated form of exercise: walking. It is gentle on the knees, can be done by people of all age groups, tones up the body, and can be done everywhere, anywhere, and at any time. You can walk for as long as you like or keep it short, like a 15-minute session after meals. If you want to know how much walking can give you the desired health benefits, here are two interesting studies summarized.
Important findings from studies on walking:
A study published in the Journal of Alzheimer’s Disease has revealed that even a modest 4000 steps a day can be associated with great benefits for people. They compared the brain scans of 10,000 people, with an average age of 52 years, and found an increase in brain volume with even a small amount of exercise or walking up to 4,000 steps per day. Increased physical activity, or an increase in a state of elevated heart rate due to physical exercise, can increase blood flow to the brain and boost the number of neurotransmitters, thus enabling better cognition, a better mood, and even a boost in the grey matter content of the brain. The increase in grey matter in the brain is seen in vital areas related to memory, creativity and learning, thusincreasing the overall functionalandcognitive abilities of the brain.
Last year, a study published in the European Journal of Preventive Cardiology pooled findings from 17 previous studies showing that a minimum of 3.967 steps per day can lead to a reduced risk of death, and steps as few as 2,337 can reduce death from cerebrovascular accidents and heart attacks. The risk of death is reduced by 15% for every thousand-step increase in walking, and an increase of 500 steps every day can lower the risk of death due to heart-related causes by 7%.
Benefits of walking:
All the data established by the studies above have increased the spotlight on the significance of exercise, as simple as walking in our lives. Therefore, we should incorporate some form of exercise into our everyday routine. Some more benefits of walking, as discovered over the years, are listed below to strengthen your resolve:
1. Better thinking and memory due to increased blood flow to the cortex and hippocampus in the brain, areas associated with these functions, respectively.
2. A boost in mood and better emotional health due to an increase in serotonin and endorphins, the happy hormones.
3. Increase in sleep quality and duration due to exertion and mental relaxation as you turn your complete attention to a different activity, taking your mind off of the daily worries of life.
4. Improved cardiovascular health and reduced chances of cardiovascular disease, as it can improve the functioning of the heart and, therefore, its resistance to different kinds of stresses.
5. Walking can lead to better interpersonal relationships by increasing bonding, especially if you decide to do your favourite activity with a loved one or people with similar interests. It’s a fun way to catch up on the mundane happenings of life while also giving you a place to express yourself and build a better understanding of the other person’s thoughts and feelings.
6. Stress reduction and reduced chances of depression, anxiety, and other mental health diseases due to the increase in levels of endorphins and serotonin after an exercise, leaving you feeling satisfied for the rest of the day.
7. Weight management and maintenance, as you constantly burn calories and increase your net energy expenditure. To increase weight loss from walking, increasing the intensity of walking and the number of steps to above 8,000 daily can prove fruitful in achieving the target weight.
8. A longer, healthier life, regardless of age you start walking. Almost 49% of the risk reduction in mortality is seen in those younger than 60 walking between 7,000 and 10,000 steps daily. A significant decrease of above 30% in mortality risk is also seen in those starting to walk regularly after 60 years.
There are thus numerous benefits to walking for everyone, irrespective of age, and it can be done without expensive equipment or a gym membership.
Final Thoughts:
The findings from these studies reassure us that any step, however big or small, in the right direction always impacts our overall health more than we can anticipate. So, take your walking shoes, grab your partner or earphones, and move towards a life of quality, quantity, and bliss.