My top exercise

My top exericse, is very underrated, it is walking, I love it. Here is why.

1. Walking is good for everyone.  Doctors agree  including the elderly, morbidy obese, arhritic and pregnant women.  Walking is gentle enough for most people who have these conditions and the activity can help ease the pain of chronic illness.

2. Walking is free  and easy – no expensive gym fees and no equipment needed!

3. Walking is linked to lower rates of obesity.  People who walk to work are less likely to be obese, 30 minutes walking a day burns 150 calories..  A 2015 study found that even walking just 20 minutes a day can reduce your risk of premature death by 30%.

4. Walking prevents diabetes as it helps regulates blood sugar levels, which in turn keeps insulin levels low at diabetes at day.  A 15 minute walk after a meal is all that is need to help regulate blood sugar levels.

5. Walking is good for year heart. A 2013 study found that walkers who cover the same mileage as runners enjoy comparable reductions in high blood pressure, high cholesterol and coronary heart disease. While it took twice as long for walkers to cover the distance, walking may be a more sustainable and accessible activity than running for most people, especially those who are new to exercise.

6. Walking helps you get a good nights sleep.  Travel experts adivse when you arrive at a new city on the day you arrive to walk around.  The reason is that you expose your body to sunlight and saying outside until it grows dark helps you to recalibarte the hormone melatonin to your new time zone.  As melatonin rises so does feelings of sleepiness.

7. Walking improves your mood protecting you from both anxiety and depression.   Moving your body is a well-known way to release endorphins, a set of feel-good chemicals that dull pain receptors in the brain, sedate you and even give you feelings of happiness and euphoria. That’s why exercise in general, and walking in particular, is recommended to help improve symptoms of mild to moderate depression. A 2005 study found that walking briskly for 35 minutes five times a week, or 60 minutes three times a week, had a significant influence on mild to moderate depression symptoms.

References

2015 Study see >> https://www.express.co.uk/life-style/health/552048/Brisk-20-minute-walk-each-day-could-reduce-risk-early-death

2013 Study see >> http://time.com/3668654/exercise-obesity-walking-premature-death/

Exercise for depression study see >> https://www.theatlantic.com/health/archive/2014/03/for-depression-prescribing-exercise-before-medication/284587/  and the 2005 study see >> https://www.health.harvard.edu/mind-and-mood/exercise-is-an-all-natural-treatment-to-fight-depression

 

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