Throughout lockdown 2.0, the weather has gotten colder and the nights have turned darker. The winter weather brings with it a sombre mood, and so I’ve been trying to do something each day that would not only brighten my spirits, but destress me and improve my mindset.
I’ve been going for a walk everyday – even in the freezing cold and occasionally in the rain.
My mum and I get up, have breakfast and go for a walk. We’re always wrapped up with snoods, hats and gloves; the other day we even took our umbrellas in case it rained. We’ve found that getting in a walk in the morning helps our mindsets, and gets us ready to start the day.
So, I wanted to share some of the benefits of walking with you all.
Here they are:
1. It helps lighten your mood – walking releases natural painkilling endorphins.
2. It can help you lose weight – a brisk walk can burn lots of calories.
3. It can help improve sleep – it relieves insomnia.
4. It’s easy on your joints – it’s not to strenuous and is an easy exercise to do.
5. It can help strengthen your heart – it can reduce your risk of coronary heart disease.
6. It can tone your legs – walking on inclines helps strengthen muscles in your legs.
7. It can boost your energy – it increases oxygen flow in your body and increases the level of hormones that help elevate energy levels.
8. It can help with creative thinking – walking helps clear your mind, allowing you to think creatively.
9. It can extend your life – studies have shown that it can reduce risk of overall death by 20%.
10. It can improve your mood – it helps reduce anxiety and depression and boost self-esteem and a positive mindset.
Maybe you’ve been inspired to get out and go walking, or maybe you haven’t but I guarantee it does help. Give it a go.
Until next time…