Very often the simplest solutions are the best as well. This is also true for walking, as far as exercise is concerned. All you need to do is simply start walking, and you won’t have to buy any special gear. Also, it doesn’t matter how fit or physicaly strong you are when you start walking regularly – all you need is to make a decision. Many studies have been written on the amazing benefits of walking; if you can, go for long walks as often as you can.
Walking reduces pain
if your life is to stressful, walking has the same effects as professional therapy, as during walking you pay attention to other stimuli, refresh in your thoughts, and become free of mental pressure, even if for only a short while.
Also, you become physically healthier, your bones and muscles become stronger, your lungs fill up with oxygen and so on. Interestingly, people who suffer from inflamed knee joints and as a result of a lot of pain, reported that the pain was relieved when they started to walk for approximately three hours a week. Those women who kept walking for about four hours after the beginning of menopause, had a 40% lower risk to break their hip as a result of an accident or a fall.
Walkers are happier
As a result of a study, experts came to the conclusion that persons who participated in the research and were prone to pessimism and depression, started feeling better and their mood improved after they started walking. As they kept walking for longer and longer distances, the test subjects said that they experienced an improvement in their health. Walking calms the nerves, and it may even cause a euphoric state if you walk for a longer period of time.
It protects the health of the heart
According to several studies, in case of persons who walk regularly there is a 50% less chance of developing heart disease. Those elderly people who walked to the stores had less chance of suffering from dementia or Alzheimer’s disease as they progressed in age. Walking even improves the health of diabetes patients. According to the statistics, 60% of diabetics who walk regularly become healthier as their sugar levels stabilized, and they needed only minimal treatment. At the Harvard University, a group of people who walked regularly were studied and examined carefully for 12 years; the conclusion of the study was that 23% of them died later or their mortality was lower compared to people who didn’t walk.