This May is National Walking Month; a chance to ditch the car, put on our trainers and walk to our daily commitments instead. Often overlooked as a form of exercise, walking is a natural and accessible way to keep active. It might seem odd to celebrate such an ordinary activity but given that we spend a fifth of our lives sitting down, shouldn’t we take the time to reflect on the benefits that walking could give us?
The rise of a sedentary lifestyle
As a child, my life was led by the steering wheel of a car. There was no other choice, after all. Living on the outskirts of town meant that, by default, my mum had to drive me everywhere I needed or wanted to go. School, the cinema or the nearest supermarket; I spent hours sitting in the backseat of her car, barely walking a few miles. When I grew older, I swapped my mum’s car for a lone public bus and my own driving license later on. Safe to say, my cardio was nearly non-existent.
Everything changed, of course, during lockdown. With no places to go to I, like many others, gravitated outdoors, running in old workout clothes and meeting for endless walks that stretched curfew. Now, more than two years have passed since the first UK lockdown, but some of the habits we picked up during that uncertain period remain. We are still shopping local, we are still connecting online, we are still working remotely in certain countries. But we have stopped walking.
Current physical activity guidelines for people aged 19 to 64 advise doing at least 150 minutes of moderate-intensity activity per week. While that might seem like a lot to fit in, it is equal to around 20 minutes of exercise a day. Just like running or swimming, any type of aerobic activity counts – and this includes brisk walking. Despite this, Sport England found that just over 61 per cent of adults achieved the recommended 150 minutes of exercise between November 2020 and November 2021.
Physical inactivity has been identified by WHO (World Health Organization) as a leading risk factor for global mortality and more than 20 conditions and illnesses. We aren’t meant to be sedentary and when we don’t move, inactivity reduces our ability to control glucose levels, maintain a normal blood pressure and break down fat, doubling the risk for coronary heart disease, Type 2 diabetes, breast and colon cancer as well as dementia and depression. In the UK, one in six deaths are due to lack of physical exercise.
A few steps is all it takes
Driven by these statistics, I decided to take up walking for health again starting by walking five miles every day, for a whole month. These would include my daily commute to and from town, lunchtime breaks and afterwork plans. Used to the commodities of modern-day engineering, my body and my mind would have to learn to reap the benefits of walking in my daily routine.
Even as a young adult with no underlying health conditions, the first couple of days started out as an unexpected challenge. From finding accessible walking routes to actively choosing to take four flight of stairs and going for evening walks after a long day, I was often out of breath, tired and feeling heavy.
But as one week rolled into another, I noticed how these signs were slowly replaced by a feeling of lightness and a boost in energy levels, mainly due to the release of endorphins to the bloodstream. Taking the stairs, which used to leave me breathless, became easier to do and quicker to recover from. In fact, as walking strengthened my core and lower body muscles, lubricating my joints and pushing oxygenated blood around my body, I was able to build the distance and speed of my walks.
Mentally, my mood and anxiety were lifted. With regular fresh air, oxygen flow to my brain increased, clearing my mind of worries and warding off negativity. I felt centred and refreshed, and this heightened my mental focus at work and my happiness at home. A clinical trial in 2021 even went so far as to show how aerobic exercise could ameliorate central arterial stiffness and cerebral blood flow in conditions like Alzheimer’s disease. Brain activity can then kick in, stalling cognitive decline and allowing space for creativity.
Along with physical agility and mental capacity, research has demonstrated that walking also has positive effects on the immune system. Reducing inflammation, going for a walk raises the number of T-cells in our body and enhances effective white blood circulation, lowering our risk of contracting infection or illness. Walking also helps to manage elevated levels of the stress hormone cortisol, which apart from impairing brain function, can suppress the effective role of the immune system.
Moreover, the physical perks we acquire during a walk, like better blood circulation, improves the performance of the heart. To meet the additional demand in oxygen and nutrients, the heart also exercises when we walk. Over time, the organ becomes stronger and more efficient at pumping blood, which decreases the force of blood on the arteries. This helps to lessen the risk of hypertension.
On another note, physical activity has also been shown to lower dangerous low-density lipoprotein (LDL, the ‘bad’) cholesterol by augmenting high-density lipoprotein (HDL, the ‘good’) cholesterol, responsible for transporting excess LDL to the liver where it will be removed from the body. Given that high levels of LDL can lead to atherosclerosis, physical exercise remains a key component in preventing medical conditions like stable angina, thrombosis, aneurysm and kidney disease.
Put your best foot forward
Walking is one of the best types of exercise to improve physical and mental health and the more practice, the better health. The benefits of walking aren’t related to the distance walked, however. It isn’t necessarily 10,000 steps. Whether it’s going on a hike, walking the children to school or taking the long route to the top floor, it’s the quality of our steps that count. If walking alone is too monotone, there are still ways to get those steps in, like going on a walking trail with friends or joining one of the 500 volunteer walking groups in the UK.
This May, let’s lace up our trainers.
Visit one of Top Doctors’ leading cardiologists today to start an exercise routine that truly benefits your health.
Join the discussion