By: Ifa Mufida (Malang State University Polyclinic Doctor)
FIT-Starting a busy day requires healthy activities. Walking is an option that should be considered. This is because there are many benefits that can be felt. So, it would be a loss if we prefer to sleep in our mornings compared to relaxing our leg muscles by walking. Likewise, it is more comfortable to pull the blanket than walking while breathing fresh air. In fact, walking can be an option if where we live is not too far from where we work or study in college.
Walking is basically a wonderful way to move and increase physical activity in your daily routine. It doesn’t take long, just about 15-30 minutes to complete the road mission that we are doing. On the other hand, morning walks are also a cheap and easy way to maintain our body’s health. We do not need to pay to be able to walk around the house. Of course, in addition to the physical health that we get, we can also maintain our mental health. Anyone can do this sport, from the young to the elderly.
Reporting from Healthline, walking in the morning will provide more energy throughout the day. As the journal entitled “Vitalizing Effects of Being Outdoors and In Nature” by Richard M. Ryan et al concluded that adults who walk outdoors for 20 minutes will get more vitality and energy than those who walk indoors for the same period of time. Thus, if we need to burn energy in the morning, then walking is the right choice.
In addition, the benefits of walking are that it can increase muscle strength. If people walk 10,000 steps every day, it is said to be the same as practicing in fitness centre, especially if a person also walks on a hike. In addition, the chances of getting injured are smaller. Meanwhile, the benefits of walking for weight loss can be obtained if you walk at a moderate speed for 30 minutes and combine it with a healthy diet and other strength training. This is because walking for 30 minutes will burn about 150 calories.
When our bodies move and walk quickly, not only are the muscles of the body strengthened, but the bones of the body are too. This is because for calcium metabolism, apart from needing exposure to the morning sun, a moving body is also needed. This is because, not enough extra calcium and vitamin D alone to prevent or slow down the process of osteoporosis, the body also needs exercise. The body also needs at least 15 minutes of exposure to the morning sun to be free from the threat of osteoporosis. It is estimated that those who exercise since they were young and consume enough calcium until the age of 70 can still be free from the threat of bone loss. Amazing isn’t it?
Thus, the benefits of walking can not be doubted. Quoting from the site Better Health, walking is a sport that can improve cardiovascular and lung fitness and reduce the risk of heart disease and stroke. In addition, walking can also control high blood pressure / hypertension, cholesterol, joint pain and diabetes. The same thing was conveyed by the American Heart Association, walking is as effective as running in terms of preventing heart disease and stroke. This activity can prevent heart disease by lowering blood pressure and cholesterol levels and improving blood circulation.
Another study states that by getting used to walking about 6 km per hour with a travel time of about 50 minutes, it is said to be able to delay or prevent the development of Type 2 diabetes, especially in those who are obese (National Institute of Diabetes and Gigesive & Kidney Diseases). As it is known that type 2 diabetes that is diagnosed early can be overcome without the need to take medication, but it can be done by choosing regular and periodic exercise. In fact it is said, as long as blood sugar can be controlled only by moving the body (brisk walking), then medication is not needed. Based on another study, it turns out that walking has a greater positive effect on the pancreas than running. According to the study, a group of people who walked for six months showed a sixfold increase in glucose resistance compared to those who ran.
Studies published in the journal Frontiers in Endocrinology also found a link between exercise and improved brain health. The study team told one sample of participants who were 65 years old to follow a normal daily routine, while another group was asked to complete three cardio exercises at treadmill every week the intensity continues to increase. The results of the study found that those in the exercise group had positive increases in health biomarkers at the end of the six-month study. This is the basis that walking is said to provide benefits to brain health, one of which is by preventing Alzheimer’s disease (known as “senility”).
Walking is also said to be able to maintain high levels of endorphins in the body so that it can keep a person from mental stress. So walking is believed to be able to make a bad mood calmer so as to improve someone’s bad mood. Hippocrates, the ancient Greek physician, said, “Walking is the best medicine”. It turns out that walking non-stop for 15-30 minutes per day can change your appearance and make your body healthier. Just look at the natural evidence from our ancestors who did more walking activities every day, at that time there were not as many stroke cases as now. One study of 70 thousand nurses (Harvard School of Public Health) who at work were recorded as walking 20 hours a week, their risk of having a stroke decreased by two-thirds. Thus, there are so many benefits of walking that have been proven. So is it true that walking makes our lives more meaningful? finished.