One of life's simple pleasures and best exercises is the morning walk. A simple stroll can do wonders for refreshing your brain, activating your body and beating stress. Exercise is good at anytime but the morning comes with its own set of advantages. The pollution-free air ensures that you get good quality oxygen and lesser toxins with every breath. Here are some of the benefits of morning walking:
- Better Blood Circulation: The morning walk serves as a fine cardio exercise with the heart beating fast and pumping blood to every part of the body. This increases your blood circulation, and helps in controlling blood pressure and cholesterol in the long run.
- Muscle Strength and Stamina: Morning walks helps in improving the muscle endurance and increase the oxygen carrying capacity of the blood, thereby increasing the overall stamina. So, regular morning walkers needn't worry about getting tired during the day.
- Blood Sugar Control: Morning walks are one of the best ways to control blood sugar levels, especially if you are a diabetic and on insulin. A study published in the journal of the American Medical Association found that people who exercises in the morning showed a better control on their blood sugar throughout the day.
- Improved Skin: Many people face skin problems like pimple and acne, and many time the reason is pollution. Morning walk can be your key to a better skin. Walking in the morning helps your skin to breathe in pollution free oxygen, and the morning mist has a moisturizing effect on your skin. The vitamin D absorbed from the morning sun is also hugely beneficial. While you sweat, your skin pores open up and get cleared, giving you a fairer complexion which will become visible in just a few days.
- Better Sleep: Walk well in the morning, sleep well at night. A study conducted at the Fred Hutchison Cancer Research Center in Seattle suggests that exercise done in the morning helps in provoking sleep during the night, and walking in the later part of the day may just have the opposite effect. According to researchers, exercise increases your metabolism and resets your body clock, so if done in the evening, it may cause sleeplessness.
- Improved Metabolism: When we sleep, our metabolism slows down completely. Morning walks are the best way to kick start the metabolism. Many studies have proven that people in the habit of walking in the morning have a much better metabolic rate than those who do not walk at all. This ensures that you feel more active and energised and mentally alert throughout the day. Some studies have also shown that people who are regular with their morning exercises tend to be very sharp and are better decision makers.
- Better Mental Health: Morning walks are almost like meditation. For a while your body loses itself to the monotony of movement while your mind is at rest and unfettered by worry. The morning breeze and the fact that you have your day ahead of you releases positive energy and helps counter problems like depression and anxiety. It puts you in a good mood throughout the day.
- Vitamin D Absorption: Soaking up the morning sun helps in absorbing valuable vitamin D and cuts down the risk of calcium resorption from the bones which may lead to conditions like osteoporosis and osteopenia.
Morning walks are one of the simplest ways to be benefited physically, mentally and spiritually. Everyone of us should make walking in the morning a habit and enjoy a full range of benefits from it.
