It is known that walking can train and improve the body, but the latest research shows that we maintain the “flexibility” of the brain as well this way. Whether we are focused only on the physical body, the benefits of walking will also affect our mental health and our mood.
It doesn’t matter where or why you walk, with whom, or what effect you expect. The fact is that you will feel better after the walk. This activity will calm your mind, reduce the symptoms of depression and help reduce feelings of weakness and exhaustion.
Better Mood
During walking, daylight stimulates the brain to produce serotonin, a neurotransmitter that improves mood. A walk during the day gives us more opportunities to enjoy nature and the environment and only half an hour of walking effectively reduces tension, improves mood, and increases energy.
Walking in nature helps to alleviate depression and restore self-confidence. During aerobic training, endorphins (“natural drug”), are released. Endorphins are both a trigger for positive feelings and calmness like morphine. They act in the brain and spinal cord and other parts of the body.
Long-term physical activity can be a good substitute for antidepressants.
Ageing And Brain Function
Over the years, the decline in the elasticity of blood vessels has led to disorders in brain function, but experts are convinced that exercise can help. Expert advice is to maintain a rhythm of regular exercise and activity throughout life, which can lead to a reduced risk of dementia in old age.
Physical activity can encourage better brain function as well as thinking skills in people with dementia.
A team led by Arthur Kramer of the University of Illinois followed 70 people aged 60 to 80 for a year. Their physical abilities and brain function were monitored with the help of magnetic resonance imaging. It has been noticed that the functions of memory, attention, and other cognitive processes have improved in people who walk quickly on a regular basis.
Prevention Of Vascular Dementia
In 2017, researchers at the University of British Columbia found an hour of walking three times a week reduced cognitive impairment in seniors.
They have found that people with a milder form of memory loss feel better and think faster if they walk several times a week. The research was related to vascular cognitive impairment, the second most common form of dementia worldwide (the first is Alzheimer’s disease).
It is a condition in which blood vessels are so damaged that blood can no longer pass through them to the brain in the required quantities. It is associated with high blood pressure and heart disease.
Why is physical activity important for these people? Exercise affects blood pressure and heart rate, and research suggests that frequent short walks can improve memory and physical ability in people with early-stage Alzheimer’s disease.
New research has examined whether exercise can cause the same effect in those who suffer from vascular dementia. The changes in the brain were mild but very important for the functioning of normal brain function.
