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Top 6 Reasons You Need to Get Up and Walk Everyday

January 4, 2021 | Tips & Trends
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The New Year is here and one simple and easy method to stay on top of your health and fitness goals in 2024 and beyond is to walk.

Of the many benefits that we’ll cover in this blog post when it comes to walking, you don’t need fancy footwear, a gym membership, or even expensive equipment to do it!

Even during the cold winter months, you can find comfort in walking around a local shopping center to get your steps in.

If you lead a busy life and find it difficult to incorporate time that’s solely dedicated to walking, there are other ways to help fit in more walking throughout your day, and they include:

  • Taking your dog for a walk (or volunteering to walk dogs at a local shelter if you don’t have one of your own)
  • Listening to music or a podcast during your lunch break
  • Parking farther away from the entrance
  • Taking the stairs

You may be surprised to know that the required “10,000 steps per day” that we hear about is nothing more than a marketing campaign from a Japanese pedometer inventor dating back to 19651.

While setting a goal of 10,000 steps is a good starting point to staying active and healthy, a more accurate way of maintaining health and wellness is to follow the Department of Health and Human Services weekly exercise guidelines2 :

  • Perform at least 150 minutes of moderate aerobic activity (you can maintain a conversation while performing)
  • Perform 75 minutes of vigorous aerobic activity (while performing this type of exercise, it’ll be difficult to hold a conversation)
  • Strength train all major muscle groups at least two times a week

Now that you see the requirements of weekly exercise, here are six reasons for you to get up and take a walk today!

  1. Walking reduces stress, lifts your mood, decreases depression, and increases self-esteem by releasing your body’s natural “mood-lifting drugs” otherwise known as endorphins.3
  2. Walking lowers blood pressure, improves sleep, and gives you more energy. Regular walkers have lower blood pressure,  fewer heart attacks, and strokes, and higher levels of HDL (healthy cholesterol)4
  3. Walking helps people experience a major dip in snack cravings during and after a 15-minute walk.  Research suggests daily walking helps limit your cravings throughout the day.5
  4. Walking has been shown to improve the longevity of life. A study reported that women who walked over 4,400 steps per day had significantly lower premature mortality compared to inactive women6, with a different study concluding that people who walked over 8,800 steps a day averaged 30 percent less time spent in the hospital when compared to those who walked less7 .
  5. Walking improves creativity. Research has demonstrated that even a 15-minute walk can help improve both convergent and divergent thinking, which will aid in both creativity and problem solving8 .
  6. Walking helps you lose weight and boosts your metabolism. It’s not much of a surprise, but the more active you are, the more weight you lose and the higher your metabolism will likely be. Weight loss can have significant benefits to your overall health and wellbeing. In fact, with every pound of weight loss, you have four pounds less pressure on your knees9 .

As you can see, the benefits of walking cannot be overstated, and better yet, it’s free!

So we encourage you to lace up your walking shoes and go enjoy a walk today!

Matt Turner, PT, DPT, CMPT, graduated from Lebanon Valley College in 2015 where he started working for Phoenix Physical Therapy in Pottsville, PA. His specialties include the treatment of orthopedic and sports injuries, as well as occupational-related injuries. Matt opened the first Phoenix Physical Therapy clinic in North Carolina, where he now lives with his wife, Rachael, and son, Everett, in Charlotte.

References:

  1. https://health.gov/paguidelines/second-edition
  2. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3197470/
  3. https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S1755296612000099
  4. https://my.clevelandclinic.org/health/diseases/4314-hypertension-high-blood-pressure?_ga=2.13474225.749156964.1575463633-714935945.1575463633&_ga=2.13474225.749156964.1575463633-714935945.1575463633
  5. http://www.exeter.ac.uk/news/research/title_171423_en.html
  6. https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jamainternalmedicine/article-abstract/2734709
  7. https://theconversation.com/new-study-shows-more-time-walking-means-less-time-in-hospital-71554
  8. https://www.apa.org/pubs/journals/releases/xlm-a0036577.pdf
  9. https://www.thelancet.com/journals/landia/article/PIIS2213-8587(16)00053-X/fulltext

The entire Phoenix Physical Therapy Team is committed to providing our patients with quality physical therapy, occupational therapy and speech therapy in a safe and healthy clinic environment. We continue to follow the guidance provided by the CDC, WHO and public health officials to update you as new information becomes available. Let’s work together to keep each other safe and healthy.

The safety of our patients, communities and team members remains our top priority. We know you have a choice in your care providers and appreciate your commitment to Phoenix and our qualified clinicians.

Here are the actions we have taken to keep our patients, communities and team healthy & safe:

  • Flexible scheduling allows for social distancing
  • Regular cleaning and sanitation of all clinic surfaces
  • Facemasks must be worn by all Phoenix staff and are recommended for all patients
  • Screening questionnaire and temperature checks prior to entering clinics
  • 6 feet of social distancing throughout the clinics

Keeping Our Clinics Safe

Here are some tips on how we can keep each other safe:

  • Handwashing is your best self-defense against the spread of germs. When soap and water are not available and hands are not visibly dirty, use at least a 60% alcohol-based hand sanitizer.
  • Please stay home if you are not feeling well, especially if you have a fever, are coughing or sneezing, or are experiencing shortness of breath. If a patient shows up with symptoms, the clinic team will work with them to reschedule.
  • Be vigilant. If you have traveled to any of the countries where there are outbreaks of the virus, please follow guidance from the CDC website and our Travel Guidelines.

Here are actions we are taking to keep our clinics clean and safe:

  • Equipment will be wiped down after EVERY use with antibacterial wipes/sprays
  • All surfaces that patients or staff may touch including door handles, countertops, seating, pens at sign-in, bathroom and all other common areas will be disinfected regularly
  • Treatment tables will be 6 feet apart
  • Team members will wash their hands often with soap and water for at least 20 seconds, particularly after going to the bathroom, before eating, and after blowing their nose, coughing or sneezin
  • Clinics will have hand sanitizer available at the front desk and in the treatment areas
  • Any Phoenix team members who are ill will be asked to stay home
  • We will maintain social distancing between patients in the clinic
  • Caregivers that are bringing a patient to the clinic should wait in their car or come back when the appointment has ended unless necessary (i.e. minor requiring a guardian or for assistance needs)
  • When possible, we will treat patients in private rooms to increase social distancing
  • Any patients that have underlying health issues (i.e. diabetes, respiratory problems, etc.) will be given the option to be seen during special clinic hours or can opt to be treated in a private room away from other clinicians and patients
  • All patients should be self-screening before entering the clinic. Our PCCs will perform a secondary screening during the check-in process and before patients enter the clinic including a screening questionnaire and temperature check.
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