Walk Your Heart, Mind and Body to Better Health
Studies Emphasize Multiple Benefits of Walking
Aug 7, 2009
Studies continue to emphasize that walking helps prevent heart disease, diabetes and other ailments. Recent studies indicate that nature walks not only bring peace and inspiration, but also expand mental health. Walking has been proven to be a restorative for the mind, improving a person’s ability to focus, pay attention and remember the information processed by the brain.
AARP Pushes Walking for Retirees
The emphasis was on walking in a recent online edition of the AARP Bulletin Today. The subject was surveyed from multiple perspectives and numerous health benefits were outlined in this publication of the American Association of Retired People.
The featured article reported on a recent University of Michigan study in which some subjects walked in nature and others walked in a busy city downtown area. The researchers discovered that the attention and memory spans of those who walked in a natural setting improved by 20 percent.
Information for Walkers and Would-be Walkers
The July 10, 2009 AARP Bulletin, which is a free resource available for everyone, is a walk-a-thon of walking articles. A sidebar has links to previous articles on the subject. Here is a summary.
- Nature: Science Shows It’s Good for the Mind as Well as the Body, by John Hanc, sub-titled “A walk in the woods can do wonders.” This article relates the poet Walt Whitman’s descriptions of communing with nature to mind-enhancing benefits recently arrived at by scientific studies, highlighting the one by University of Michigan psychologists.
- Health Discovery: Pump Up Your Brain With Exercise, by John Hanc, also relates exercise to improved memory. University of Pittsburgh neuroscientist Kirk Erickson tested 165 adults over age 55 and found that the fitter subjects had much larger hippocampuses, the part of the brain thought to be the central processing area for memory and learning and an area that can shrink about 1 percent a year after age 55.
- Health Discovery: Can You Still Build Muscle Mass at 80?, by John Hanc, cites research giving both a “yes” and “no” answer as it explores this question. It may send oldsters back to the gym.
- How Walking Buffs Your Brain, a summary of the various benefits of walking. The theme: Time dedicated to walking is time the brain and mind need for clarity and strength. Walking improves your ability to make decisions, solve problems, and focus.
- Walk Inside-Out lists places people can walk if they live in cold weather climates.
The message is clear. Walk the path to continued good health and give your mind, body and soul a boost.
Source: AARP Bulletin Today (July 10, 2009 edition)
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