Johns Hopkins Health Alerts Healthy Living After 50 Health Benefits of Walking

It is a well-established fact that better cardiovascular health gained by regular exercise reduces your risk of type 2 diabetes, heart attack, stroke, high blood pressure, and high cholesterol levels. Now, new research suggests that regular cardiovascular exercise might benefit your brain as well. Two separate studies published in the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA) report that walking regularly may help preserve mental sharpness.

If you already play sports or jog, swim, or cycle, you’re ahead of the game. But even if you don’t exercise regularly, walking is one of the easiest ways to begin: Walking is easier on the joints than jogging and racquet sports, generally safer than outdoor cycling, and typically more convenient than swimming. Walking also strengthens bones and reduces bone density loss.

Brain Boosting Data on Walking
In a study of more than 18,000 female nurses age 70 and older, those who walked the most (at least 1.5 hours per week) scored higher on tests of general thinking ability, verbal memory, and attention than did women who walked the least (less than 40 minutes per week). In addition, the most active women were 20% less likely to be considered cognitively impaired.

Similarly, a study of more than 2,000 men over age 70 in Hawaii showed that regular walking reduced the development of dementia (including Alzheimer’s disease). Researchers suspect that better overall cardiovascular health—which translates into improved blood flow to the heart and brain—is behind the better mental functioning of the exercisers. Research also suggests that exercise promotes the preservation of brain cells and increases the connections between them.

Top Ten Walking Tips

• Walking Tip 1: Clear it with your doctor. Most people who are generally healthy can start a moderate-intensity walking program without needing a physical. However, it is important to check with your doctor if you have a chronic health problem, such as high blood pressure, high cholesterol levels, heart disease, or type 2 diabetes.

  Regular walking can improve most health conditions, but they need to be taken into consideration before you begin. For instance, people with diabetes may have special challenges with peripheral neuropathy (nerve damage) and foot problems that require special shoes, while heart failure patients might be advised to progress much more slowly. Regular walking can also be risky if you have been diagnosed with advanced osteoporosis because you are at increased risk for a fracture if you fall.

  With or without a checkup, if you experience chest pain, dizziness, palpitations, or shortness of breath with walking or any exercise, see your doctor.

• Walking Tip 2: Buy walking shoes. Walking requires no special equipment and is something you can do almost anywhere. Widely available “walking shoes” with sturdy but flexible nonslip soles, good arch support, and adequate heel padding (for shock absorption) are all you need.

• Walking Tip 3: Start and stop walking slowly. Five minutes of slow walking at the beginning and end of each walk is recommended to allow your body to adjust gradually to the changes in your exertion level. As part of your warmup and cool-down you may also want to start and end each walking session with some gentle stretches. Stretching should not be painful. Stretch slowly, only as far as you are comfortable, and without jerking or bouncing. A general guideline is to hold each stretch for 10 to 30 seconds at a time and to repeat each stretch 3 to 5 times.

• Walking Tip 4: Use good form. Try your best to use good walking form—chin up, shoulders slightly back, and toes pointed forward. Your heel should strike the ground first, and your weight should then roll forward on your foot. Bend your elbows at a 90-degree angle and swing or pump your arms at your sides as you walk. Try not to clench your fists.

• Walking Tip 5: Take the talk test. All walkers should periodically take the “talk test” to ensure that they are not overexerting. The talk test measures exercise intensity: When walking at a moderate intensity, you should be able to comfortably carry on a normal conversation. If you are too out of breath to do this, your pace is too vigorous. If you can sing as you walk, however, you are exercising at a light intensity and may want to step up the pace a bit.

  Whatever your exercise intensity, you should stop walking immediately if you experience dizziness, chest discomfort, severe headache, or other unusual symptoms. If the symptoms don’t subside, you should seek immediate medical attention.

• Walking Tip 6: Walk longer each week. If you have been physically inactive for some time, you need to start slowly and gradually increase your walking time over several months. Depending on your general health and cardiovascular fitness level, your first few walks might last anywhere from 5 to 15 minutes. No matter how long or short your first walks are, the key is to increase your walking time by a few minutes each week.

  As your fitness level improves, you can pick up the pace until you are walking briskly for at least 30 minutes daily, at least 3 days a week—the level of exercise recommended by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Experts note that two 15- minute walks at different times of the day can be just as valuable as one 30 -minute session.

• Walking Tip 7: Stay motivated. Starting a walking program is sometimes easier than maintaining one. But many walkers remain highly motivated to continue walking by the way it has made them look and feel—or by improvements in their blood pressure, cholesterol numbers, or blood sugar levels.

  Set goals and keep track of your progress in a walking log. Your log might include how many days you walked each week and for how long, and you may want to record your weight and information about improvements in blood pressure or other health conditions.

• Walking Tip 8: Stick to a schedule. Choose a convenient walking time and try to stay with it. Treat your walking time as you would any other important appointment. On the other hand, be flexible. If you miss a few sessions, don’t give up. Just start back where you left off and keep walking.

• Walking Tip 9: Walk with a partner. A spouse, friend, or even your dog can encourage you to walk on those days when you don’t really want to. Consider forming a neighborhood walking group.

• Walking Tip 10: Add variety. Find another activity to alternate with walking, such as cycling, or join a health club or your local community center, where you can add swimming or indoor cycling or weight lifting to your regular exercise program.

How Hard Should You Exercise
If you already exercise regularly at a moderate or intense level and you have checked with your doctor about any heart problems or other health risks, you can gain maximal cardiovascular benefits by walking 5 to 7 days a week for 30 to 45 minutes at your target heart rate. During exercise, your target heart rate should be between 70% and 85% of your maximum heart rate (in beats per minute).

To determine your maximum heart rate subtract your age from 220. Then determine your target heart rate by multiplying your maximum heart rate by 70% (0.70) and then by 85% (0.85).

You can monitor your heart rate during exercise with an electronic heart rate monitor or by stopping to check your pulse at your wrist. You can count the beats for 60 seconds, or count them for 30 seconds and multiply by 2, to get your heart rate. Eventually, you will become familiar with what walking speed correlates with your target heart rate.

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Medical Disclaimer: This information is not intended to substitute for the advice of a physician. Click here for additional information: Johns Hopkins Health Alerts Disclaimer

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Posted in Healthy Living on March 8, 2006
Reviewed July 2009