Walking | The Key to Health
Could walking be the key to health?
I used to think walking was important but it wasn't until I read this book that I realized walking is EXTREMELY IMPORTANT for not only physical health but mental and emotional health too. Walking is essential for every aspect of health.
The book is called In Praise of Walking by Shane O'Mara.
Our bodies are made to move.
If you don't use it, you lose it.
The myth is that we need to do strenuous exercise that makes us sweat like running on a treadmill or high-intensity workouts to be healthy, and while those may have their place... the benefits of plain old walking are vastly underrated.
Our ancestors were hunter/gatherers and spent most of their lives walking. It's estimated that before the industrial age people walked between 15 and 20 miles a day, and did so for hundreds of years. Walking is one of the key components of our genetics.
Walking helps many functions of the body including:
- Improves circulation
- Strengthens muscles
- Fights insomnia
- Moves lymphatic fluid throughout the body
- Stimulates brain creativity
- Prevents neurologic disease
- Slows aging of the brain
- Decreases stress levels
- Improves mood
- Increases a general sense of wellbeing
When you walk you should let your brain think freely without listening to podcasts, audiobooks, music, etc. Thinking while walking helps reset and stimulate your brain. Walking not only sets your body in motion but sets your mind in motion as well.
Moving requires brain power. If you aren't moving bad things are happening inside the body. Using your sense of direction is a great way to stimulate your brain. It may sound simple but the mechanics of walking takes a lot of sensory activity from the brain. Walking is particularly healthy when you're walking outside in nature.
Walking is the best medicine.
Does your job require you to be sedentary?
Has your activity level decreased?
Have you had an injury that limits mobility?
A decrease in movement causes the body's degeneration processes to speed up.
You have to keep moving.
Walking inspires creativity and helps your thoughts to flow. The brain has an active mode and a default mode. Active mode is when your brain is required to focus on the task at hand. In default mode, your mind is free to wander. Walking helps get your brain get into default mode. You need to be able to disconnect, and walking helps you do this.
In summary, walking is healthy for your physical body and it's also incredibly healthy for your brain. Walking improves concentration, memory, and creativity.
I challenge you to walk at least 2-3 miles each day and take note of the changes in your physical, mental and emotional health.
Dr. Jason West and the West Clinic Team
