Whether you’re just starting a workout regimen or you have an established fitness practice in place, there’s one form of exercise that’s both easy and beneficial to add to your daily routine: walking.
The simple act of walking is more impactful than you might think. Not only is walking a great low-impact cardio workout that can benefit your physical health, but there are plenty of mental health benefits of walking, too.
We’re unpacking why walking is so good for you, how long you should walk, and the unexpected health benefits of walking every day.
Should you walk every day?
Yes! While there are some forms of exercise that require rest days in between, daily walking benefits most people. In fact, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services recommends adults get 150 minutes of moderate-intensity exercise each week — and that can include brisk walking.
How much should I walk every day?
Have you heard that you should aim for 10,000 steps a day? Turns out that number is not one-size-fits-all. Instead, recent research suggests that on a 30-minute walk most days of the week, rather than fixating on an arbitrary number of steps.
Ultimately, how long you walk each day may also depend on your specific fitness goals and current fitness level.
- If you’re just getting back into exercise or starting an exercise regimen, begin slowly with 5 to 10 minutes of walking a day. Build up to 30-minute walks over the course of a few weeks.
- If you already have a workout plan in place, you can add in brisk daily walks to supplement your existing workouts, or in place of other cardio.
- If you want to challenge yourself or accelerate weight loss, you can up the intensity on your walks by adding variations like intervals or inclines. (Try this popular incline treadmill workout to burn fat fast.)
What are the advantages of walking?
There are lots of reasons to add daily walks to your routine, but for starters:
- Walking is easy to do. All you need are a pair of sneakers and the great outdoors or a treadmill or the great outdoors, and you can go wherever your feet take you.
- It’s low-impact and accessible. Because walking is easier on your joints than running or other forms of exercise, people of most fitness levels and ages can do it.
- You can make it social or reflective. Invite a friend to chat while you stroll, or go solo to clear your mind and chill after a busy day.
Beyond these advantages, there are numerous physical and mental health benefits of walking you can begin to experience.
7 Health Benefits of Walking Every Day
Walking isn’t just a simple form of movement to sneak into your day; it turns out that walking as exercise benefits everything from stress levels to weight loss. If you need a reminder, here are seven reasons why walking is good for you.
1. Walking helps your brain process information
Similar to the way that sleeping helps your brain process information, so does walking. While asleep, the brain processes the information received during the day through rapid eye movement — also known as REM.
Similarly, this back-and-forth movement also happens when you walk. Your eyes are scanning the area in front of you, back and forth with each step. Essentially, walking requires both hemispheres of your brain to communicate with each other, which helps you process information. So the next time you’re stuck on a problem or have run out of creativity, take a walk outside to reactivate the mind.
2. Walking can decrease stress levels
Though there are plenty of ways walking benefits your physical health, the mental health benefits of walking may be just as compelling. Daily walks can boost your mood through the release of endorphins. Endorphins are hormones that, when your body feels stress or pain, get released to relieve that pain and stress.
Walking also lets our mind wander along with our legs, to the point where some think of it as a type of active meditation. A daily walk is the perfect opportunity to change your perspective, let your mind rest, or do some deep thinking.
3. Walking helps you sleep better
Exercise is one of the best ways to fall asleep more quickly and improve the quality of your sleep. When you move your body, you elevate your heart rate and increase blood flow, which in turn burns calories. This higher calorie burn means your body needs more rest to repair muscles. The result? Better, deeper sleep!
Aerobic exercise also boosts the amount of melatonin you produce while asleep, which makes you more tired at night. In short, going on a walk can lead to a more well-rested you.
4. Walking is a form of active recovery
Looking for another reason to get those daily steps in? If you’re already working out consistently, gentle movement like walking can assist with blood flow and in turn, help your muscles repair themselves more quickly after other workouts. This makes it an excellent form of active recovery the day after a higher-intensity workout or weight-training session.
Active recovery workouts are key in preventing your muscles from feeling stiff or sore; which is all the more reason to lace up those sneakers and head out for a stroll!
5. Daily walks can help with weight management
The best part of walking is that you can do it at your own pace for as long as you’d like. It’s just you, your feet, and the world around you. No matter what pace that is, you’ll be burning calories and boosting your metabolism, which can help you maintain a healthy weight.
Walking daily is a great way to take steps toward a healthier life and build your confidence.
6. Walking helps you build healthier habits
Everyone has a different relationship with exercise, but one thing is true for all of us: Making exercise a habit will increase your quality of life. While completing a 30-minute workout every day might sound intimidating, a 10-minute walk around the block doesn’t sound so bad, right? Before you know it, you’ll be taking a 30-minute walk around the neighborhood every day!
That change, however, doesn’t happen without consistency. The more consistent we are with our healthy habits, the easier it becomes to stay on track.
When you wake up tomorrow, try taking a 10-minute walk first thing in the morning. Not only will you get to start your day with a moment for yourself, but when your first action of the day is a healthy one, it helps encourage you to make healthier choices for the rest of the day.
7. Daily walking benefits your overall health
Sometimes the things that are most beneficial for our bodies are the simplest, and daily walks are no exception. The health advantages of walking range from protecting your heart to boosting your immune system.
Getting your daily steps in can fend off type 2 diabetes and heart disease by lowering blood pressure and strengthening the heart. Walking also builds up the immune system and lowers your chances of getting sick from many different diseases. Not only does the immune system get a boost in the cells that fight off sickness, it also becomes more efficient at fighting things off, which allows you to recover faster when you do get sick.
A final word on the health benefits of walking
Whether you hit the trail for a daily stroll in nature or turn to the treadmill to get your blood pumping, daily walking benefits your body and mind in countless ways. Start slow if you need to, and work your way up to a brisk daily walk that will boost your metabolism, lower your stress, and help you continue to make healthy choices all day long.
More low-impact cardio workouts to try
Do you have questions about how much you should walk each day? Ask an expert Coach in the Anytime Fitness App. Just download the free app and head to the Community tab!
