Daily Walking Benefits

You have probably heard about the benefits of walking more every day. And you have probably also heard that you have to walk 10,000 steps daily to realise those benefits!!!

But that’s NOT true.

We can enjoy the benefits of walking more with 1,000 extra steps daily. And at 3,000 extra steps a day those walking benefits really rack up :

• 1,000 extra steps can lower blood sugar levels in diabetes patients.
• 2,000 extra steps can improve concentration levels of ADHD kids as much as common medication.
• 3,000 extra steps daily can reduce heart disease risk by 20%.

If we walk 2-3,000 steps more day in, day out as part of our everyday lives we really can improve our whole family’s health and wellbeing.

2-3,000 steps is just 1 mile daily!!

And we do NOT need fancy walking shoes or trackers to achieve that.

So if you are up for the Walk The Mile Daily Challenge read on …

This guide will take you through :

1. Big Benefits Of Walking More
2. How To Walk More Everyday

It truly will get the whole family moving so do pin it for later.

Please note, this post is NOT qualified medical advice.

The Big Benefits Of Walking

Lots of research shows that walking one mile more daily can have big benefits for many different areas of our family’s health including :

1. Children
2. Mental Health
3. Chronic Conditions
4. Heart Disease
5. Cancer Risk
6. Back Pain & Mobility
7. Weight Loss
8. Old Age
9. General Wellbeing

Walking Benefits For Kids

Walking a little more as a family every day can transform kids :

• Gross Motor Development
• Classroom Concentration
• Activity Levels
• ADHD Issues

Gross Motor Development

Walking outdoors every day boosts development of essential gross motor skills in under fives.

Classroom Concentration

Kids who walk to school concentrate better for the first 4 hours of the day compared with those driven.

Activity Levels

Children who walk are more active when they arrive at their destination and so continue to enjoy the benefits of increased activity levels even after the walk is over.

ADHD

A 20 minute walk in the park can improve focus and concentration levels in ADHD kids as much as common medication.

Benefits For Mental Health Of Walking More Daily

Walking more daily has been shown to both prevent and ease a range of mental health conditions :

• Depression
• Anxiety
• Chronic Stress

Depression

Walking just one mile daily protects against depression in all ages and eases depression in those suffering.

Anxiety

A 10 minute walk can relieve anxiety as much as a 45 minute workout and the walking benefits can kick in after 5 minutes.

Chronic Stress

A 20 minute walk can reduce raised cortisol levels and associated chronic stress in adolescents.

The Benefits Of Walking For Chronic Conditions

Walking more daily can help manage common chronic conditions like :

• Diabetes
• Cholesterol
• Respiratory Disease

Diabetes 

A 10 minute walk after each meal significantly reduces blood glucose levels, especially in the evening.

One member of my family put diabetes into remission simply by walking daily and eating carefully.

Cholesterol

Walking one to two miles a day can cut bad cholesterol levels by 20%.

Respiratory Disease

Walking 1 to 3 miles every day has been shown to reduce hospital admissions for COPD patients.

The Benefit Of Walking For Heart Disease & Strokes

Walking more daily can reduce our risk of heart disease and stroke :

• Heart Disease Risk
• Stroke Risk
• Blood Pressure

Heart Disease 

Walking half an hour daily can lower heart disease risk by 20%.

Blood Pressure

A 30 minute walk in the morning can lower blood pressure as much as blood pressure medication.

Stroke Risk

Walking to work most days can cut risk of death from stroke by 30%.

The Benefits Of Walking For Reducing Cancer Risk

Cancer risks are very complicated but some research does suggest walking can reduce our risk of :

• Breast Cancer
• Colon Cancer

Breast Cancer

Walking 2 to 3 miles every day can reduce our risk of breast cancer.

Colon Cancer

Walking for 20 minutes – a mile or so – every day can reduce our risk of colon cancer by up to 50%.

Walking Benefits For Back Pain, Joints & Mobility

Many of us struggle with long term back pain, muscle strains and joint problems as we age but research suggests walking more can help :

• Relieve Back Pain
• Protect Muscles
• Ease Arthritis

Back Pain

Walking 1 to 2 miles, 2 to 3 times a week can be as good as specialist exercises for lower back pain.

Protects Muscles 

Hamstrings and glutes are shortened from prolonged sitting and therefore more vulnerable to injury, walking daily can help prevent this.

Arthritis

Walking 10 to 40 minutes a days, most days can ease joint pain in people with arthritis.

Walking Benefits For Diet

Walking daily helps us lose weight by:

• Burning Calories
• Stabilising Blood Sugar

Burning Calories

Walking a mile every day can burn 700 calories a week. Brisk walking increases the calories we burn.

Stabilising Blood Sugar

Walking a mile daily also stabilises our blood sugar which can reduce food cravings and how much we eat.

The Big Benefits Of Walking More For The Elderly

Many elderly people benefit a great deal from the health improvements we have looked at so far but walking daily can also reduce their risk of :

• Glaucoma
• Alzheimers

Glaucoma

Walking three times a week can lower intraocular pressure and cut the risk of glaucoma by 25%.

Alzheimers 

Walking one mile a day can slow the progress of Alzheimers in the elderly.

Benefits Of Walking For General Wellbeing

Walking just a little more daily boosts key aspects of general well being that can themselves in turn boost physical and mental health :

• Self Esteem
• Mood
• Creative Thinking
• Community Connection

So walking more daily can create a virtuous circle of wellbeing & health.

Self Esteem

Just 5 to 10 minutes activity daily – including walking – in a green space improves self esteem.

Mood

And walking just 5 to 10 minutes in nature can also improve mood.

Creative Thinking  

Walking outside can actually boost creativity levels by over 80%.

Community Connection

Children who walk daily feel more connected to their community which can significantly improve mental health, especially in adolescence.

Now, we have all the amazing benefits of walking daily, let’s look at easy ways to walk more.

How To Walk More

Walking 10,000 steps daily takes time many of us don’t feel we have but there are all sorts of easy and enjoyable ways to weave an extra mile into our everyday lives :

• Walking For Work
• School Run Walking
• Neighbourhood Walking
• Walking & Shopping
• Walking & Learning
• Walking In Nature
• Walking With Others
• Walking Alone
• Spiritual Walking

If we make a mile a day a simple sustainable habit for the whole family every single day we can easily add more steps when we have time.

Walking For Work

We really all can squeeze in 10 minutes walk at the beginning and end of our working day and lunchtime :

• Walk to the next bus or train stop.
• Get off one bus or train stop early.
• Park 10 minutes walk away.
• Hold 1-on-1 meetings outside so you can walk and talk.
• Always use the stairs.
• Leave the building every lunch.
• Walk over and talk to people instead of e-mail.

School Run Walking

The school run can feel horribly tight but the benefits of walking it for kids are huge and there are lots of clever ways to get some walking in :

• Walk to the bus stop.
• Park 10 minutes walk from school.
• Join a walking crocodile.
• Take in turns with another family to walk to school so kids do it daily even when your time is tight.
• Let kids scoot or bike so they get benefits of balance whilst you walk.
• Keep building kids confidence by increasing how far they walk to and from school on their own.

Neighbourhood Walking

Walking daily in our neighbourhood is such a simple but powerful way to reconnect with our community. We bump into people, we chat, we see good stuff taking shape and problems that need fixing.

So make walking your default for all those little local trips :

• Walk to the post box.
• Walk to the post office.
• Walk to the library.
• Walk to church.
• Walk to kids clubs.
• Walk to the restaurant.
• Walk to the movies.
• Walk local errands for neighbours who can’t get out.
• Join a litter picking group.
• Walk to the recycling centre, with extra benefit of carrying weight.
• Pick up take aways rather than getting them delivered!!

Walking & Shopping

We can walk more steps and enjoy the benefits of walking more, simply by shopping in real stores again rather than buying everything online :

• Walk to pick up daily milk, bread, fruit and a newspaper.
• Nip to local independent stores nearby for emergency buys.
• Keep building kids confidence by getting them to run errands at the corner store or market.
• Park at the furthest end of the grocery store car park.
• Meet up at farmers markets.
• Go old school shopping with the girls and try a load of stuff on rather than just shopping online.

Walking & Learning

Use your walking time to fit in some learning with great digital :

• Educational podcasts.
• Classic audio books.
• Exam revision notes.
• Language courses.

Walking In Nature

Walking every day is a great way to reconnect with the seasons of the year and the sheer beauty of nature :

• Beautiful blossom trees.
• Birds nesting and eggs hatching at the local pond.
• Bird song early in the morning.
• Woodland and meadow flowers.
• Butterflies, damsel and dragon flies shimmering in the summer sun.
• Community gardens in flower.
• Stunning fall leaves.
• Crisp foot prints in the snow.
• Walk to the top of hills for winter views when all the leaves are gone.

Enjoy Walking With Others

Walking with others is a great way for all the extroverts amongst us to get in some extra people time with :

• Walking Play Dates
• Walk & Talk Coffee Catch Ups
• Walking Lunches
• Walking Romantic Dates!!
• Walk To Work Buddies
• Weekly Walking Clubs

Enjoy Time To Yourself & Personal Space Walking

If you are one of life’s introverts walking is a great way to benefit from being alone to recharge batteries :

• Walk in the park at dawn when you will have space to yourself.
• Walk in nature at lunch time to give yourself a break from others.
• Walk home from work on your own to wind down.

Spiritual Walking

Making a little time daily for walking also creates space for spiritual time every day including :

• Meditation.
• Prayer.
• Repeating mantras.
• Asking forgiveness.
• Reflecting on the progress of our day in life’s journey.
• Listening to Bible stories or other spiritual readings.

And there you go, loads of simple ways to walk more as a family every day so you can enjoy the huge health benefits of walking the mile.

Do bookmark or pin this post to come back to for ideas!!

For more simple healthy living tips check out these posts :

• Joint Pain Relief
• Better Sleep
• Restore Gut Health
• Reduce Inflammation Fast
• Natural Antibiotics
• Natural Constipation Relief

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Original image source: verkeorg