Benefits of Walking: Why is Walking Important for Your Health?

How many times have you heard the phrase “walk it off” and wondered why people use it this way? You might’ve heard someone talk about the digestion benefits of walking after a big meal by saying that they’re going to walk it off at the mall. Or, maybe you’ve heard someone use it during a heated argument to tell an individual to walk it off by stepping away from the situation to clear their head. 

Though there are a lot of different contexts in which this phrase is used, it is really rooted in the several associated benefits of walking. There have been several studies conducted on the health benefits of walking daily and most, if not all, have concluded that walking everyday can improve your physical and mental health in several ways.

So, what truly are these benefits of walking and how are they associated with your gut health and weight loss? Well, let’s take a closer look at all of the advantages of walking on your overall health. And we’re sure that once you understand how beneficial walking can be, you won’t be able to resist including it as a daily practice!

How Does Walking Improve Digestion?

Walking has a lot of positive influence on your digestive system, because it aids the movement of food through your intestines to absorb nutrients more effectively. 

So, if you’re thinking of how walking improves digestion, think of how much lighter you feel after walking off a heavy meal. This is because light walking after meals—and not a brisk walk since that might cause an upset stomach—helps to digest your food better. And it’s able to do that by providing a movement momentum to your digestive system, which allows food to move through quicker than if you were to sit (or worse slouch) after eating.

The benefits of walking on your digestive health also ensure that your blood sugar levels are balanced after meals, and you don’t experience any spikes in your blood sugar after eating. This is great news for those who are predisposed to conditions like diabetes or chronic weight gain through their genetics, because they can help balance their blood sugar levels by making this small change in their everyday lifestyle.

In fact, if you’re struggling to improve your metabolism, digestion, and bowel movements, then you should certainly incorporate a habit of light walking after every meal. This will ensure that your body is absorbing essential nutrients from the foods you eat, providing you with energy, and discarding waste regularly without contributing to excess fat deposits.

As a result, walking for better gut health will ensure that you are keeping yourself in check when it comes to digesting your food properly. This will prevent digestive issues like gut inflammation and chronic indigestion.

Amongst the various other benefits of walking after meals, you’ll begin to notice that you don’t feel like you’re on a rollercoaster ride with your blood sugar levels, you’ll also have less sugar cravings after a meal, and most of all, you won’t feel gassy or bloated.

In other words, it is essential to go for a light 10-15 minute walk after every meal (even better if you walk outdoors) since all of these factors will play a role in improving your gut health, reducing inflammation, and helping you manage your weight.

How Does Walking Improve Mental Health?

Along with the digestive benefits of walking, there are several mental health advantages of including walking as a daily practice. 

Studies have shown that walking can help increase the release of serotonin (the feel good hormone) in your bloodstream. Serotonin is both a neurotransmitter and a hormone that positively influences your mood, appetite regulation, sleep, and weight management among several other functions in the body.

Essentially, when there is an increase of the release of serotonin in your bloodstream, it helps to lower your cortisol (stress hormone) levels. This is the reason why medical professionals recommend walking to reduce stress since it helps your body come out of the fight or flight mode by helping you relax.

In fact, the mental benefits of walking go far beyond the reduction of stress levels as walking can also help prevent and/or improve mental health issues like anxiety and depression. The reason for this is that walking—especially in nature—not only brings fresh oxygen to the brain, but also helps to improve cognitive function to ward off feelings of anxiety or depression.

When you take a walk out in nature, your body is able to get sunlight and fresh air that surrounds you with a positive outlook on yourself and the world around you. Studies have found that people who tend to live inactive or sedentary lifestyles (sitting for most, if not all, of the day) are more prone to the risks of anxiety, depression, and cognitive decline. And this is most often due to a lack of new, positive stimuli in your environment since you’re always inside. 

Interestingly, a study conducted on seniors on benefits of walking and physical exercise revealed that those who exercised (or walked) regularly had lower chances of developing cognitive impairment conditions like Alzheimer's or Dementia. This is because they provided their brain with fresh stimuli on a daily basis, which promoted their brain development and prevented cognitive decline.

Therefore, walking helps to promote mental health by increasing levels of serotonin in your bloodstream, providing you with beneficial sunlight and fresh oxygen, and promotes brain development with positive environment stimuli.

What is the Role of Walking in Weight Loss?

Now if you’re wondering about the benefits of walking for weight loss, then it’s important to remember the gut-brain-weight connection. This connection indicates that poor gut health (poor digestion) leads to poor brain health, which eventually leads to weight gain. And this connection also works in the opposite direction, which means that your mental health is also able to influence your physical health.

Remember, your gut is known as your second brain; it’s not only influenced by your brain, but also has the ability to influence your brain. So, if you include walking as a daily practice and especially after meals, then your improved digestion will provide you with a better attitude towards your weight loss goals. And, these benefits of walking will help you make progress on your weight loss journey.

To add to this, walking—whether it’s in the form of a light walk, brisk walk, or even a jog—is an exercise that helps you burn off excess fat. Walking uses up the excess energy you consume from food to make sure that it’s not converting into fat deposits in your body. It helps with improving your digestion and keeping your body in a healthy state (where the calories you consume are used in the form of energy to build muscle rather than stored as fat).

In fact, if you find yourself sitting down for most, if not all, of the day for work or leisure purposes, then that means that your food may not be digesting food properly. This is especially damaging if you're slouching on the couch right after a meal, because this can slow down your digestion. It may also cause conditions like acid reflux, heartburn, and indigestion of food, all of which promote gut inflammation and weight gain.

Moreover, the benefits of walking are also evident when your body is experiencing an imbalanced state of hormones, because it can help lower the levels of weight promoting and damaging hormones like cortisol and improve your immunity to fight off infections and illnesses. As mentioned earlier, high cortisol levels place your body in a state of fight or flight mode, and if you’re stuck in this mode for too long, then this can damage many bodily functions. 

In other words, high cortisol levels lead to an irregular appetite, high blood sugar, impaired insulin function, low satiety, and especially weight gain around your abdomen and face. All of these factors make it challenging for you to lose weight and can even lead to conditions like diabetes and obesity.

Therefore, if you incorporate walking as a part of your daily routine, then you can ensure to make progress on your weight loss journey by improving digestion, reducing gut inflammation, balancing your blood sugar levels, and losing weight naturally.

Conclusion (and some walking tips!)

Essentially, there are so many different benefits of walking—especially light walking after meals—that all promote your physical and mental health.

If you’re ever wondering how to get the most out of your walks, then follow the walking tips below to step into your best self:

• Take a brisk walk early in the morning and include deep breaths as you walk in nature to fill your lungs with fresh oxygen.
• Take a long walk after work or in the evenings to help you de-stress from the day, and you’ll notice that it’ll help you sleep better as well.
• If possible, try to take a walk during your lunchtime as well, this will help you digest your food better, prevent you from a “food coma” after lunch, and will also keep you energized for the rest of the day.
• Make sure you do light walks after meals to help you digest your food better and balance post-meal blood sugars.
• Walking 10-15 minutes after every meal will allow you to complete 30-45 minutes of light to moderate exercise every day, which is a great way to keep yourself on track for your weight loss journey (and your overall health).
• Try to get about 8,000-10,000 steps a day. Studies suggest that an average of 10,000 steps a few times a week can help improve your heart health, your mood, and promote a healthy, natural weight loss. You can use a pedometer or a smart watch to track your steps. It may help to start with smaller, realistic goals (maybe about 3,000 steps in a day at first) and then increase by 1,000 steps each day to help you eventually reach your goal of 8,000-10,000 steps. 
• Change your surroundings every few days or weeks for your nature walks to give your brain fresh stimuli for continuous brain development.
• Take a walk whenever you feel upset or bored to improve your mood and avoid unhealthy snacking.
• You can also walk on the treadmill during the winter months if it’s too cold for a walk outside, or try this guided exercise routine: Beginner 1 Mile Walk: Walk at Home.

Disclaimer: This video isn’t a paid promotion. I genuinely enjoy this exercise routine (I use it regularly to get my steps in), and I wanted to share it with you. Please consult your medical practitioner or physician before trying this exercise at home, especially if you have certain mobility or other underlying conditions.

Above all, live in the moment and enjoy your surroundings as you take a stroll in nature and watch all the positive effects it will have in your daily life.