10 Benefits of Walking

Walking every day is one of the best ways to prevent premature aging and dozens of illnesses. The good thing you don’t need to walk for hours to obtain these 10 benefits of walking, 30 to 45 minutes daily is enough.

A recently published study shows that to remain healthy and maintain a normal weight it is necessary to make between one thousand and ten thousand steps a day.

Here are top 10 benefits of walking

1. Great Sex – there is a direct connection between regular exercise and healthy sex. Normally, exercising causes the brain to produce endorphins which stimulate the release of sex hormones, thus improve libido, decrease anxiety, lower blood pressure, and relax the body in general.  They also help sleep better, which, in itself, a powerful sex booster. Studies have confirmed that exercise even a few times per week, along with adequate sleep, can improve sexual arousal more than any drug on the market. In short, better sex is one of the benefits of fast walking.

2. Easing Depression and Stress – in addition to physical benefits, exercise also has a beneficial effect on mental and emotional health. In fact, this is one of the best ways to prevent and manage stress and depression without using dangerous drugs. Exercise is considered a natural tranquilizer due to its calming effect on the body. Stress makes your mind overactive; the natural solution is to move. In short, exercise, including fast walking, is the most logical and most effective solution to deal with a stressful or depressive situation by helping the body to regain a state of relaxation and balance.

3. Cardiovascular Health – Nearly 300 peer-reviewed papers confirm it is highly beneficial to walk daily. A recent study has found that people who take more than 10,000 steps daily have not only better cardiovascular health but also lower blood pressure levels. Even a small walk will strengthen your heart, thereby reducing the likelihood of cardiovascular problems. It has been shown that nurses, the fact that they walk enormously, were 35% less likely to suffer from heart complications compared to other sedentary women of the same age. Healthy cardiovascular function is among the top 3 benefits of walking.

4. Diabetes Prevention – It was also found that the habit can help lower blood glucose levels, which lead the researchers to believe that exercise can also help prevent diabetes. Indeed, further investigation showed it can reduce the condition by up to 58%. Therefore, a diabetic person can prevent complications of the disease by adopting this practice.

5. Healthy Cholesterol – daily walking helps fight against bad cholesterol. Regular physical exercise is one of the most effective and safe way to raise “good” (HDL) cholesterol levels and lower levels of triglycerides, which have been linked to a greater risk of heart disease and stroke when they are in high levels in the blood. Along with a healthy diet, fast walking can do miracle in keeping your cholesterol at normal ranges.

6. Healthy Pulmonary Functions – with exercise, cardiorespiratory endurance improves the fact that the pulmonary resistance is increased, which means that the lungs are much stronger and healthier, and thereby more resistant to possible viral infections that may occur.

7. Cancer Prevention – Finally, along with eating healthy food, 30-45 fast walking daily reduces the risk of developing colorectal cancer and breast cancer, the most common cancer in women. Fast walks facilitate digestion, preventing accumulation of semi-digested food and fecal matter.

Walking to Lose Weight and Rejuvenate Your Skin and Brain Function

8. Lose Weight – every year American spend billions of dollars in weight loss programs and products. The sad truth, most of these so-called weight loss products do not work. In fact, some of them are not safe. Fast walking helps lose weight safely and permanently, many studies have demonstrated. Not only is this activity helps to lose weight, improves circulation and reduces the appearance of varicose veins, but it also helps tone the leg muscles.

9. Skin Rejuvenation – Walking also rejuvenates the skin and makes it more radiant.

All you need to do is to walk for 30-40 minutes per day, at least 5 days a week, to improve your skin tone. Exercise beautifies your skin by improving circulation, providing oxygen and necessary nutrients to skin cells. It also helps production of collagen, a structural protein that contributes to the firmness, suppleness and constant renewal of skin cells.

10. Healthy Brain Functions – daily walking relaxes and airs the brain, and helps it function better. In elderly, it reduces the risk of brain complications. Regular exercise improves memory, thinking skills, and perception. Aerobic exercise restores the functioning of the damaged brain cells, which makes it not only a preventive therapy but also a curative treatment for people with minor brain damage.

Healthy Exercise Practices

There are some good tips you can adopt to guarantee these benefits of walking. For instance, it is important to avoid bending and looking at the ground while walking. Instead, you can examine the way you walk and improve it progressively if there is imperfection, which most likely will happen at the beginning. It is recommended to walk fast and straight in order to protect the posture of the body. Remember, the objective is to maintain or become healthy; therefore, anything that can have a negative impact on your body must be avoided

It is also good to wear sport shoes, preferably with rubber soles, to avoid slipping; they are most suitable for this activity. If you do not have time to walk during the day, you can always try to go to work on foot if your workplace is not too far. At work, you can take stairs instead of elevator.

However, as you exercise daily, your body will surely loose fluid. To keep it hydrated, drink plenty of water and natural juice. To protect your skin, use natural moisturizer every day if you walk in the sun. Use a moisturizer compatible to your skin: oily, dry, or else.

Benefits of walking include much more than what mentioned in this article, boosting the immune system for instance. This is just a list of the top 10 that many studies confirm.