While most people avoid spending the night in jail, jean beliveau jumped at the opportunity. for the past three year's beliveau had been walking from country to country, with the goal of circumnavigating the globe on foot. this required sleeping in tents, stranger's homes and the occasional jail cell along the way. but this morning as beliveau was ready to leave, the police chief who had agreed to his sleeping arrangement was nowhere buying his story. few people have the time and desire to walk such extreme lengths. however research shows that adding even a modest amount of walking to your daily routine can dramatically improve your health. so what exactly happened to your body, when you increase your daily step count?
A single afternoon stroll can improve your mood and ease symptoms of anxiety and depression. walking especially at a brisk pace, is thought to trigger the release of pain relieving endorphins and curb the release of the stress hormone cortisol. within weeks of adding more steps to your routine, your body adapts. while it may seem simple walking requires the coordination and effort of many muscles in your legs, torso and back. to keep up with the increase in energy demand, the vessels around these muscles are remodeled to deliver more oxygen. at the same time your heart becomes more efficient at pumping blood. in a few month's these changes can lower your blood pressure and reduce your risk of heart attack and stroke. carrying the weight of your body as you walk places stress on the bones. but this stress actually makes the bones stronger, as it stimulates the absorption of calcium and minerals. that's why year's of consistent walking can help retain bone density, which usually declines with age. building a lifelong walking habit comes with many other benifits from aiding in weight management to reducing your risk for type 2 diabetes numerous cancers and dementia simply put walking is exercise. and unlike other forms it doesn't require equipment and is often more accessible to people of varying ages and fitness level's. while activity trackers usually bill 100 step's as the ideal benchmark studies show that any increase in steps per day can yield health benefit's. and these steps don't need to be token continuosly. for those who live in walkable neighborhoods, step's are easily accumulated throughout the day walking to work to pick up groceries and to meet with friends. and living where shops and amenities are easy to get to on foot comes with its own set of perks. residents in these communities are often less reliant on vehicle's, which translates to improved air quality and reduced local greenhouse gas emissions and it can even change the way you see the world. one study of seniors in Hong Kong found that those living in more walkable neighborhoods reported feeling less loneliness and more life satisfaction than those living in less walkable neighborhoods.
Why, doesn't everyone just walk more?
One big reason is that many people don't have access to safe well maintained places to stroll. despite the known benefits of walking, many cities and towns have been designed with only driving in mind. state and local government across the globe often prioritize funding for highway and road's over sidewalk and public parks. and evan when walkable spaces exist, the route's to get to them aren't always pedestrian friendly. in the US, residential and commercial areas are typically zoned separately and often only connected by busy roadways. but there are ways to make places more foot friendly.
In, 2013 Vancouver city officials opened the helmcken greenway, talking a two kilometer road and converting it into a walkable and bike able space. studies found that after opening, people living close to the greenway got more exercise reduced their daily car trips by 25% and cut their personal greenhouse gas emissions by 22%. and even small measures can help. I places like bethel, vermont for example : community members have improved the walkability have improved the walkability of their downtowns by adding simple features like painted crosswalks and curb extensions. as for beliveau the guards eventually let him out. he'd Walk over 75000 kilometer in total to complete his journey, but it's clear you don't have to take quite it's clear you don't have to take quite this many steps to see am impact.
Thank you....
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