By Alliance Communications Coordinator Amy Durr
A recent study offers somewhat shocking and encouraging news if you are over 40 like I am.
“If Americans over 40 walked as much each day as the most physically active members of the population, they could extend their life span by at least 5 years,” a study published in the British Journal of Sports Medicine found.
Five years of a thriving life is a significant chunk of time to be gained just from walking.
“I think this study provides additional evidence…that going from a sedentary lifestyle to a more physically active lifestyle results in a meaningful reduction in mortality risk, and as activity level increases so does the risk reduction,” remarked Christopher Schneble, MD, a Yale Medicine sports medicine physician.
But I’ll show you there’s more good news from walking, and you can even incorporate awe into your daily life.
How Far Do We Need to Be Walking?
Five extra years certainly made me sit up and take notice. But how much walking are the most physically active members doing?
“The study’s authors found that the top 25% of the population in terms of physical activity each day generate the equivalent of 160 minutes of walking at nearly 3 miles per hour.”
Two hours and forty minutes of walking at a 3-mile-per-hour pace equals 8 miles. So, it’s a lot of walking. But the study doesn’t say all of these active people are walking 8 miles – it says they are “generating the equivalent” of that much exercise.
There’s More to Gain the Less Active You Are
More good news: The least physically active 25% of the population stood the most to gain. For each hour of walking they do, they can extend their life by about 6 hours.
For those of you who are inactive, “even small increases in physical activity substantially reduce the risk of noncommunicable diseases and premature death,” said Ryan Glatt, director of the FitBrain Program at Pacific Neuroscience Institute in Santa Monica, CA.
Walking reduces mortality risk at all levels of activity. And walking not only increases your chances of living longer, but also helps maintain vitality as you age.
The Many Benefits of Simply Going for a Walk
Walking is accessible to almost everyone, making it a practical and powerful tool for a healthy life. Schneble shares that consistent exercise is clearly beneficial to our bodies compared with a mostly sedentary lifestyle:
- From better bones to a better mood – “Engaging in physical activity can result in improved preservation of bone density, improved strength, reduced body fat, and better cardiovascular health. It can also lead to improvements in both mood and cognitive function. Improving things like heart rate, blood pressure, or the amount of excess body fat can all help decrease how hard the heart must work to pump blood throughout the body, which in return is protective.”
- Invaluable self-care – Exercise is self-care, improving not only physical, but mental and brain health too. And “exercise” can be as accessible as taking a walk in your neighborhood.
- Sound sleep – A walk before bedtime may be the secret to a better night’s sleep. Research shows walking before bed may help you fall asleep faster and may even improve sleep quality and sleep efficiency (the amount of time you spend asleep in bed), according to Fortune.
- Social connection – Find a walking buddy or group and you can see social benefits as well. I often see groups of older people walking together, waving their arms, and laughing, and it looks like such fun that I want to join in. You know what? There’s nothing stopping me.
Take Your Walking to a New Level By Incorporating Awe
We can even increase our consciousness when walking. There’s a powerful, exciting-to-me connection between walking and awe, as Dacher Keltner explains in his book Awe: The New Science of Everyday Wonder and How It Can Transform Your Life.
As Keltner points out, “Walking engages an awe-like form of consciousness.” He and UC San Francisco neuroscientist Virginia Sturm “developed an awe practice called the awe walk. We were simply naming what has been a universal tradition to seek awe in walking meditations, pilgrimages, hiking, backpacking, and after-dinner strolls.”
Here are the two instructions they gave:
- Tap into your childlike sense of wonder – Young children are in an almost constant state of awe since everything is so new to them. During your walk, try to approach what you see with fresh eyes, imagining that you’re seeing it for the first time. Take a moment in each walk to take in the vastness of things, for example in looking at a panoramic view or up close at the detail of a leaf or flower.
Go somewhere new – Each week, try to choose a new location. You’re more likely to feel awe in a novel environment where the sights and sounds are unexpected and unfamiliar to you. That said, some places never seem to get old, so there’s nothing wrong with revisiting your favorite spots if you find that they consistently fill you with awe. The key is to recognize new features of the same old place.
We suggested that participants take their regular awe walk near trees or bodies of water, under the night sky, or in a place where they could view a sunrise or sunset, and if in urban areas, near large buildings, a historic monument, a neighborhood they had never been to, a stadium, or in a museum or botanical garden. Or, we concluded, they could just wander the streets.
Walking Is Simple, or Is It?
Learning to walk is one of the first things we do as humans. Walking sees most of us through our early years before we have a car. And once we get our much anticipated license, many of us stop walking. After I turned 17, I never again walked the 2 miles to the mall, dreaming and scheming with my friends.
It’s a shame. Walking affects our whole being, from fitness and friendship to mood and mindfulness. It can be a workout, health enhancer, restorative, get together, soother, sleep aid and therapy all at once. Walking seems simple, but we should never take it for granted.
I’ve always loved the places I’ve lived where many people walk through the neighborhood. And I’ve felt bereft living in places where people don’t. Community is supported by people walking and interacting, if only to smile a hello.
Thinkers and artists have walked for thousands of years. Spiritual gurus, political protesters, everyone from Gandhi to Johnny Appleseed. They were on to something…a thing we can grab hold of, benefit from individually and collectively, and use to heal ourselves and our world.