Walking: A Brain Boost

Interested in improving your mental health at the same time as your physical health? Go for a walk!

Many people know that walking has a variety of benefits, from increased strength to weight loss. But many people don't know that walking can also have significant mental health benefits.

• Better mood: Walking 30 minutes a day boosted the moods in depressed patients faster than antidepressants research by the British Journal of Sports Medicine found. Walking releases endorphins increasing your mood and decreasing pain.
• Better brain: Age-related memory decline is lower in people who walk more. A study by the University of Virginia Health System found that men older than 71 who walked more than a quarter mile per day had 50% less incidences of dementia and Alzheimer's. 
• Better relationships: Take a break from work, chores and the TV and go for a walk with your family or friends. Daily walks are a great ritual to talk about your day and relieve stress while exercising.
• Better sleep: One-hour walks in the morning were shown to relieve insomnia in a study by the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center in women ages 50 to 74.

Are you still reading this article? Get up and go for a walk already!

Did you do the May health resolution?