If increasing, do so gradually,” she said. By this, I mean make sudden large increases beyond what one is used to. “Of course, one should not ‘over-do’ steps. Lee said that other studies have found that there is no risk of mortality in walking up to 10 times the recommend amount. However, other research supports the benefits of walking.ĭr. Dooley, was that there is no way to know if walking improved participants’ health or if poor health reduced the distance they could walk. The U.K.’s National Institutes of Health provides a simple way to confirm that walking is adequately brisk: “You can tell you’re walking briskly if you can still talk but cannot sing the words to a song.”Ī limitation of the research, noted Dr. Dooley reported that this research concluded that health benefits begin at around 3,000 brisk steps per day. Many phones nowadays come with apps that can track steps.ĭr. “I always encourage older adults to use some form of a reminder or motivation to help nudge them to get out and walk, whether it’s simply using the health app on a phone, an accelerometer they attach to their waist or wrist, or a walking buddy,” Dr. “Going to a community track or map out a ¼ to ½ mile loop can be a great option as well,” Dr. When measuring walking by the distance traveled, one quarter mile roughly equals about 500 steps. Additionally, perform your walk outside in nature, referred to as a ‘forest bath’ for an added boost to your emotional/psychological health,” said Dr. “One easy way to accomplish this is to break your walks into smaller chunks of 10–15 minutes hroughout the day. 150 minutes per weekĬurrent government guidelines suggest at least 150 minutes of moderate to vigorous intensity exercise, which can include brisk walking, per week. Arciero recommended walking between 4,000 and 7,000 steps per day each weekday, rising to 10,000 steps, if possible, on weekends. It is not much use going with a ‘system’ that one does not like,” she said.ĭr. “Step tracker or not? This depends on the individual. I-Min Lee of Harvard University, a co-author of the research, said that any way one prefers to track the distance that they walk is fine. Participants’ steps were tracked by device, but there are other ways to count the distance walked if a person does not want to wear a step-tracker.Įpidemiologist Dr. “ Research from our lab strongly supports adding cardio exercise, such as walking, to the daily routine, performed in the morning for women and in the evening for men, to significantly reduce blood pressure and boost mood,” he said. Arciero told Medical News Today that this reduction in blood pressure also makes strokes less likely since it reduces the force of blood traveling through the brain. Paul Arciero, who was also not involved in the research.ĭr. Walking reduces both the systolic and diastolic blood pressure, so “it lowers the stress and strain on the heart muscle to pump blood throughout the body,” explained further Skidmore College’s Dr. “Walking provides a great physiological stimulus to improve the strength and quality of the heart muscle and vessels in older adults,” she said. Amanda Paluch of the University of Massachusetts, Amherst, who was not involved in the research, touched on walking’s benefits on cardiovascular health. Dooley of the University of Alabama, lead researcher Not only is it a low-impact, weight bearing exercise which is important for bone health in older adults, walking is associated with reducing risk factors for CVD by helping to control blood pressure and blood sugars, decrease weight, and help reduce stress.” “Walking is a great way to get physical activity. While higher-intensity physical activity also offers health benefits, for older people, brisk walking may be a more practical option.
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