Health Viewpoints
My wife is amazing. She wakes hours before the sun, meditates, studies, exercises, puts in a very full day of work, cares for her ailing father, and then does chores around the house (which we share) and works some more.
And most of the time, she does it all with little complaint. But some days she struggles. She won’t have any energy or will feel a bit frustrated or down on herself. That’s when I come to the rescue and tell her to take a hike.
I wouldn’t call myself a hero, but you’d be surprised how much mileage I get out of this one husbandly duty. No matter how bad she’s feeling, how tired, stressed, or crampy, a walk in the rolling hills behind our home always brings her back refreshed, happy, and thanking me for my tremendous intelligence.
We’ve been married for 17 years and I’ve watched this cycle play out hundreds of times, so she might be giving me a little too much credit—but nobody needs to tell her that.
My wife takes her walking pretty seriously. She’s got special shoes, a weighted vest, and an old pair of ski poles to get her arms pumping. I go with her sometimes, but we don’t walk the same. She’s trucking, I’m trailing. I like to look around and saunter, she likes to book it at a canter.
Research shows my wife isn’t the only person getting a
major mood boost from walking.
Writers and musicians take walks to make breakthroughs in their work, business executives walk to mull over important decisions, and some super-duper smart husbands walk to reflect on their inexplicable shortcomings.
But walking isn’t simply exercise, it’s a core physiological activity that your body depends on for essential functions.
Your
lymphatic system, for example, relies on muscle contractions to get lymph to circulate and clear out cellular debris and other toxins. Your body also relies on movement to get synovial fluid
into your joints and maintain mobility. And just moving gently on your feet is enough to help maintain muscle mass and cardiovascular health.
While you don’t need to walk endlessly to get health benefits, it is generally better to walk more than less. That said, 2,000 steps, or around 30 minutes of walking, is enough to
lower your risk of heart failure, according to research recently published in JAMA Cardiology. Experts generally recommend somewhere in the range of
7,000 to
10,000 steps a day.
A
walk after dinner can get those calories into your muscles instead of your waistline, and a five-minute stroll every 30 minutes can ward off the disease-inviting effects of sitting too much,
reports Jessie Zhang.
If you want to upgrade your walk you can try:
If you are not in the habit of walking away from your problems, give it a shot the next time you’re feeling miserable. According to one truly amazing lady, it’s a genius idea.
