Scientists Just Discovered a Super Easy Way to Increase the Health Benefits of Your Daily Walk
For many people, walking is the simplest and most doable form of exercise. All that’s required is slipping on a pair of comfy shoes and opening your door. But do you need to do anything special to reap the health benefits of a daily stroll?
There is plenty of misinformation out there on this subject. Common advice like aiming for 10,000 steps a day makes it seem like maximizing the impact of walking means covering long distances or keeping up a heart-thudding pace. But much of this advice is based on folk wisdom, not science.
What does the research actually show? A new study suggests the key to getting the greatest benefits from your walking routine isn’t meeting some arduous but arbitrary goal. It’s actually to pause and stop to smell the roses more.
A reminder of the health benefits of walking
Before we dig into the details of the study, let’s remind ourselves just how impactful a simple daily walk can be. One massive study of 140,000 adults from the American Cancer Society found that walking just two hours a week — around 15 minutes a day — can reduce your risk of disease and prolong your life.
