Walking Your Way to Better Health

Walking can reduce the risk of diabetes, prevent cancer and boost your brain function.

If you want to know how good for you walking is, read on. But to feel it for yourself, here is a simple experiment: One day at work, try just sitting down all day in front of your desk. Get everything done. Then go home.

The next day, try using a treadmill desk—if you don’t have one yet, try just taking walking breaks as often as you can. Walk down the hall rather than send a co-worker an email, walk up the stairs, or take walking meetings. Just keep moving!

Compare the days and I know you will find that on day two you were more productive, felt healthier, more energetic, looser, lighter, and probably happier overall (Unless you turned your ankle or something the second you stepped out the door. In which case, sorry about that!).

Why does walking feel so good? In today’s post we’ll go over 7 reasons why walking is good for your health.

1) Walking can help you lose weight.
The average resident of a walkable neighborhood weighs 6-10 pounds less than someone who lives in a sprawling neighborhood.

Neighborhoods with poor walkability are barriers to physical activity. Research shows that people walk more if living in a walkable neighborhood. If you can’t help but live in a sprawling area, do what more and more people are doing these days and invest in a treadmill desk.

2) Walking can help prevent cancer.
Yes, really. Just one quick example: Women who walked 1 to 3 hours per week had reduced the risk of death from breast and uterine cancer by 19 percent. When they walked 3 to 5 hours per week, their risks of the same cancers were reduced by 54 percent, according to a study by Harvard University.

3) Walking can reduce your risk of diabetes.
A recent study of more than 3,000 overweight adults found that walking 2.5 hours per week (along with a healthy diet) reduced their risk of developing diabetes by 58 percent. For overweight adults 60 years and older, the risk was reduced to 71 percent.

4. Walking can keep your arteries unclogged.
In the Journal of the American College of Cardiology, a study found that exercise before a meal may help stem the effects of high-fat foods on blood vessel function. Unclogged vessels and arteries keep blood circulating throughout the body.

5) Walking can help prevent heart disease.
Studies show that as walking increases, heart disease decreases. According to the New England Journal of Medicine, retired men who walked more than 1.5 miles per day had a significantly lower risk for heart disease (compared to men who walk less).

6) Walking can reduce blood pressure.
Getting the recommended 10,000 steps a day, or even a minimal 30 minutes of walking each day can significantly reduce blood pressure.

7) Walking can boost your brain.
Many studies prove that exercise can improve mental health conditions such as depression and anxiety. It is also shown that physical activity (like walking) can help boost self-esteem and brain function. So, want to get out of a rut? Try going for a walk.

Of course, as mentioned above, in the best possible scenario you will be able to walk around your city, to work, to the store… But we can’t all live in New York (though with the population density, it seems people are trying!).

So what is the next best thing? Walk while you work. Take breaks, get outside and enjoy the fresh air, try working remotely from the park, and when you’re in the office, try using a treadmill desk like the new Xdesk Fit.

No matter how you do it, just keep walking. Your body will thank you for it!

Do you use a treadmill desk? Have you noticed a difference in the way you feel at work and after?