Get your best foot forward during national walking month
May is National Walking Month and now the evenings are lighter for longer, it’s the perfect time to get outside, and get walking.
Walking is great for all of us and has a whole host of different health benefits that you can use to motivate yourself to introduce walking into your daily routine.
We are surrounded by beautiful countryside across BSW< so here’s some of the top benefits of walking, to get you motivated and make good use of your hard-earned leisure time.
Walking is good for your heart
Your heart is responsible for pumping the oxygen and blood around your body and keeping all the other organs working. So it’s important to keep it in tip-top condition! Walking not only strengthens your heart but reduces the risk of heart disease and strokes. In fact, a brisk walk for 30 minutes every day is said to reduce your risk of a stroke by 27%.
Walking helps you to lose weight
If you are new to exercise or maybe trying to lose weight gradually in order to keep it off, then walking is a great form of exercise. If you walk at around 2mph for 30 minutes then you will burn around 75 calories, and if you increase this to 4mph this will rise to around 150 calories
Walking gives you energy
There are times when you feel more lethargic than others, and if you find yourself in this zone then a walk could do you good. It boosts your circulation and increases the oxygen supply around your body, which in turn will keep you feeling alert and awake.
Increase your vitamin D intake
Here in the UK, there are lots of people who are deficient in Vitamin D, and the best way to increase your levels of Vitamin D is to get outside in the sunshine. Vitamin D is good for your bone health, as well as your immune system, which is why it is important to try and increase the levels in your body.
Walking makes you happy
In the same way, walking can help you feel energised, it is also great for making you feel happy. A brisk walk can be just as beneficial as taking an antidepressant, and can be a great helping hand if you are suffering from depression, anxiety or feeling stressed.
If you’d like to get involved in walks locally, the BSW ICB Wellbeing group has been arranging a number of walks for colleagues in the local area. For information about these, please email bswicb.partnership@nhs.net