Benefits Of Doing A Morning Walk

The Health benefits of morning walks are numerous and include reduced risk for heart disease, diabetes, and obesity. In addition, morning walkers tend to have higher self-esteem with less stress and anxiety. The best part is that anybody can do it! Let’s explore how your health can be improved by the simple act of going for a walk in the mornings.

1. Burn Calories

In order to lose weight, one has to burn more calories than one consumes. Many studies have found that walking burns calories. A study was conducted by a team at the University of Pennsylvania, who found that walkers burned about 200 more calories per day than non-walkers. This is because walking increases your metabolic rate and creates heat in the body, which must be discarded through sweating or other means.

2. Reduce Blood Sugar

Many people with type 2 diabetes have to walk as a regular part of their treatment. While there are many other factors involved in the disease, walking has been found to reduce blood sugar levels in those that have diabetes. Walking for just thirty minutes per day could be enough to help control blood sugar if you have diabetes. One study found that walking just four times per week for thirty minutes each time was enough to reduce the risk of developing type 2 diabetes by 31%.

3. Increase Your Metabolism

Not only does walking help control blood sugar, but it also increases your metabolism. The rebuilding of muscle tissue is one of the ways that metabolism is increased. This works in part due to the fact that this type of exercise burns calories. While the breakdown of fat takes place at the same time, it does not burn as many calories.

Every single person can benefit from a morning walk. There are no excuses if you do not want to hike, jog, or skip rope. Just get up and go! If you need the motivation to walk, there’s always the opportunity to earn a prize for taking the most steps in a week. Nowadays, it’s easy to find an excuse not to exercise when life gets busy but this only works in the short term.