Walking for 30 minutes a day can benefit your physical and psychological health.
Improving your physical health doesn’t mean you need to hit the gym for soul cycling or ~sick~ lifts. In fact, you can skip the gym membership totally because just getting out and walking for 30 minutes each day has health benefits on its own.
Get A Mood Boost
If you spend your workday sitting behind a desk, using your lunch break for a brisk walk around the block can rejuvenate you for the rest of the workday. The fresh air, sunlight, and change of scenery can improve your mood, calm anxieties and promote a more positive mindset, according to Psychology Today.
mimagephotography/Shutterstock
Have More Energy
When that 2 p.m. slump rolls around, it can be hard to get anything done. Taking walks every day is a great form of Low-Intensity Steady State (LISS) cardio, which is longer periods of cardio workouts done at a steady state. When done regularly, walking can replenish your energy, make you feel more alert and keep you from nodding off in the middle of your workday.
Psych Yourself Up For The Rest Of The Work Day
Workloads can seem daunting, but taking a walk can get you out of your slump and even boost your creativity, helping your impending tasks seem easier to tackle.
“If you are feeling disengaged or sluggish, and you desire to energize yourself, take a brisk walk around the block or through the cubicles,” Jeff Miller, lead researcher of a walking and mood study conducted at Saint Xavier University, told Psychology Today. “Your feelings of engagement will very likely increase, and all those things you might have wanted to be doing should seem less imposing.”
Improve Your Physical Health
Though walking isn’t as good of a workout when it comes to burning calories as higher-intensity cardio such as running, walking does burn calories and contribute to weight loss and help you maintain a healthy weight, according to the Mayo Clinic.
Other than weight, daily walking can help prevent heart disease, high blood pressure and type 2 diabetes as well as strengthen your muscles.
So during your next lunch break, skip scarfing down that microwave meal and take a lap instead.
WAYHOME studio/Shutterstock