Walking Benefits

Author: Erin Thomas, PT, DPT

As a PT – I’m not just interested in helping people improve their physical bodies, but their overall health and wellness.

At a time when there are so many uncertainties, stress levels can increase, causing our health to suffer.

Both mental and physical health is impacted when our stress levels increase. Stress causes certain chemicals to be released and when they are in high concentration, these chemicals can affect most organ functions and change our mood (and not in a good way).

Creating control within your life can help to counteract this process and affect our physical and mental health in a positive way. With the weather (slowly) warming, the perfect solution for any increased stress and anxiety we are experiencing is to take a daily walk. The vast benefits of walking for 30 minutes each day have been extensively researched and confirmed many times over.

Those benefits are:

• Improves sleep

• Reduces anxiety and depression

• Increases physical endurance

• Provides Stress relief

• Increases mental alertness

• Reduces body fat

• Reduces cholesterol

• Increases immunity

• Increases heart and lung function

• Controls high blood pressure

• Helps manage diabetes

• Increases bone strength

Grab your phone, favorite walking app, and favorite podcast or audiobook and get moving!

**As always, stay safe: speak with your MD if you are concerned about physical activity.