Health Benefits of Walking
Health Benefits of Walking
I’m a big Forrest Gump fan. I don’t know how many times I’ve seen the movie but I never get tired of it.
There are so many memorable quotes that came from this movie.
I admire people who run. My Aunt Kate was an amazing runner back in the day (you can read about her at the link I shared) and still golfs almost every day. She’s had both knees replaced and instead of running she walks but she’s still amazing. I felt so proud of myself for walking 4 miles the other day and I talked to her and she’d walked six. Sheesh. She’s 13 years older than me and she’s still tougher than I will ever be!
I’ve never been a runner. Walking is more my speed.
Osteoporosis Awareness Month
This month is Osteoporosis Awareness Month and walking is a good way to strengthen our bones. There are lots of other ways to strengthen them, too. For 25 Tips to Strengthen Your Bones click here. These tips are provided by the National Osteoporosis Foundation.
Walking plus some strength training will make your bones stronger and no one wants to break a bone. Yet statistics say that one of every two women over 50 will break a bone.
Mental Health Month
May is also Mental Health Month. Did you know that 1 in 5 people will experience a mental illness during their lifetime? This pandemic has put extra stress on folks who were already struggling. Here are tools that can help with that.
Fast Facts
- When it comes to diet, sleep and exercise, having good, strong routines is linked to improved mental and physical health. [1]
- People with more daily routines have lower levels of distress when facing problems with their health or negative life events. [2]
- It takes an average of 66 days for a behavior to become automatic (a habit), but for some people it can take as long as 8 1/2 months. Don’t give up!. [3]
For more great info on mental health visit Mental Health America.
More Health Benefits of Walking
You carry your own body weight when you walk. This is known as weight-bearing exercise. Some of the benefits according to the Better Health Channel include:
- increased cardiovascular and pulmonary (heart and lung) fitness
- reduced risk of heart disease and stroke
- improved management of conditions such as hypertension (high blood pressure), high cholesterol, joint and muscular pain or stiffness, and diabetes
- stronger bones and improved balance
- increased muscle strength and endurance
- reduced body fat.
For me, walking is a stress reliever. In 1989 my mother was diagnosed with colon cancer. She was given one year to live. We had three young children at the time and my husband was working and going to graduate school. To say that I was stressed would be an understatement. I started walking and found that it helped.
Fast forward to the last few years and I’ve gotten lazy. I’ve been busy with other things and I cut back on walking. Then Covid-19 hit and my stress level went up. When my son mentioned podcasts to me the second (or maybe third time) I picked out a podcast and then “I just started walking.”
Podcasts
You can probably guess what kind of podcasts I like by the books that I read; mysteries. So far I’ve listened to The Dropout and 3 seasons of Someone Knows Something. They were both fantastic. I’m averaging 3 to 5 miles a day while listening. Will I keep it up? That remains to be seen, but my son was right, I love podcasts and walking has health benefits as well as relieving stress. I think that’s a winning combination.
I also have music play lists and I choose peppy, upbeat songs to make me walk faster. I like oldies (go figure) so I listen to a lot of Motown, Frankie Vally, Eagles, Lynard Skynard and many more. Their music keeps me moving!
What are you doing for your bone health and mental health? Take care of yourself Nanas! You are important
