We tend to forget to put in time for ourselves when we have a car to take us to our destination, whether it’s to work, to the grocery market, various errands. We have a car to take us places. We are a car dependent society. There are many benefits to walking such as reducing cardiovascular events and diabetes. It’s the easiest way to lose weight and stay in shape. It’s free and increases longevity. The low impact activity strengthens the hips, legs, feet, and core muscles and creates stability for your spine, improving posture.
We really don’t need to join the gym or involve ourselves in rigorous workout in order to lift our moods. We can simply…walk.
Plus, it’s a great excuse to go outside, and find ourselves a nice piece of scenery. A nice stroll in the neighborhood. A breath of fresh air, can really do some good.
Though what do we know about walking to improve our mood?
We experienced unexpected disturbance in our normal routines last year, regarding Coronavirus. What we did before, stopped becoming a norm. And a big transition into a newer normal, along with that, created anxiety and depression. Fear provoked by a different environment.
What you do have is the opportunity to get outside.
A California State University, Long Beach study showed that the more steps people took during the day, the better their moods were.
The World Health Organization recommends that we all walk everyday.
For everyone, going for a walk outside can help us manage our depression, stress and anxiety. you can do it anytime, even right now to protect our brain from depression, dementia, and Alzheimer’s disease. The effects of exercise on the brain is better mood, better attention function, and better energy.
Severe anxiety can lead to more anxiety, and can be worse when not moving or exhausting your muscles. So you need to move your body to ease feelings of anxiety.
Walking improves the way you breath. As well as improved blood flow to reverse the effects of anxiety.
Going for a walk may help distract your thoughts or at least put things into perspectives. While walking, you may process (new) information around you including smells. This helps your mind and may decrease anxiety.
Some studies have compared walking to an alternative to medications and pharmaceutical drugs. Walking may not control or prevent all of your anxiety, but it can make a great deal of a difference.
References:
12 Benefits of Walking | Arthritis Foundation
Can Walking help my depression, anxiety, depression – YouTube