Walking Benefit: HappinessWhether you're just having a down day ora down life, taking a walk can lift yourmood - especially when you gooutdoors, according to a studypublished in the American Journalof Preventive Medicine. The studyparticipants who averaged 150minutes of moderate exercise (golf,tennis, aerobics classes, swimming,or line-dancing) or 200 minutes ofwalking every week reported higherenergy levels, better emotionalhealth, and a more robust social lifewhen researchers followed up afterthree years.

Walking Benefit: Off-the-Charts CreativityStumped for an idea? Take a quick stroll around the block.Whether you need a solution to a problem at work or you'relooking for inspiration for your novel, walking gets your cre-ative juices flowing in all areas. One Stanford University studyfound that walking can boost creative output by 60 percent.The same results were found for both indoor and outdoorworkouts, and the creative boost lasted after the walk itself.

Walking Benefit: Metabolism to the MaxMetabolic syndrome - the evil trifecta of increased bloodpressure/cholesterol, high blood sugar, and fat around yourwaist - is one of the worst side effects of our sedentarylifestyle. It signals diabetes, heart disease, and even earlydeath. But we have an old-fashioned cure to this modern-day

disease: exercise. One study published in theNigerian Medical Journal found thatthe likelihood of developing metabolicsyndrome decreased by 29 percentsimply by walking over an hour a day.

Walking Benefit: Extra. Years.Want to live longer? Walk. Butspeed things up to get thelongevity benefit. According tothe Mayo Clinic, research has shownthat brisk walking can increase your

lifespan, more so than those who hada slower pace.

Walking Benefit: Cash in the BankFitness can be pricey! Money for a gym membership, homeexercise equipment, workout clothes, and shoes adds upfast. But it doesn't have to. Walking requires absolutelynothing - even shoes are optional - but still provides greathealth benefits. And not only does it save you money onthings, it also saves you money in healthcare. According to astudy in the Journal of the American Heart Association, thosewho exercised regularly saved mega dollars when it came tohealthcare costs compared to those who didn't meet theminimum weekly exercise requirements.

Walking Benefit: Zzzzzzzzzz....Getting a solid eight hours snoozing in the sack is one of themost important things you can do for your health. But

SpinalTHE Life is Better When You’re Aligned!

C O L U M N

The longest nerve in the body is the sciatic nerve. It runsfrom the spinal cord to the toes on each side of the body.

(continued on back)

Benefits of Walking for Just 15 MinutesWalking is great for weight loss, but the benefits go far beyond - from higher

energy and better mood to stress relief, creativity boost, and more.

Upper Cervical Chiropractors align the top two neck bones to restore nerve communication from your brain to every part of your body | chicouppercervical.com

sometimes that's easier said than done. Thankfully a brisk walkmay be all you need. According to the Sleep Foundation,researchers have found that people who exercised regularly,including walking, fell asleep more quickly, slept longer, andhad better quality sleep thanthose who did vigorous exer-cise or lifted weights.

Walking Benefit: Keep Calm and Carry OnRaise your hand if you'restressed out. OK, OK, put bothyour hands back down. Most ofus swim in a pool of stressevery day and thattakes a serious toll onour mental and physicalhealth. But science sayswalking is one of thefastest, most effectiveways to calm down.According to theAnxiety and DepressionAssociation of America, a simple 10-minute walk may be aseffective as a 45-minute workout in terms of reducing anxietyand depression. Moving clears cortisol, the "stress hormone",out of your system and also helps stop the never-endingstream of worries going through your mind.

Walking Benefit: Beefed-Up BonesBone density may not be one of the most exciting healthbenefits of walking, but it's an important one. People withstronger bones avoid osteoporosis and all the problems that

come with it like fractures,disability, and spine shrinkage(seriously, you can getshorter). And the best way toget strong, healthy bones isby doing weight-bearingexercises like running, danc-ing and, yes, walking, saysthe American Bone HealthAssociation. Researchersfound that walking programsthat lasted more than sixmonths were associated with"significant and positiveeffects" in bone density ofthe hip bone.

Walking Benefit: Free Miracle DrugExercise in general, and walking in particular, has beenreferred to as a "miracle drug" for its ability to lower risk forchronic diseases such as heart disease, stroke, Type 2diabetes, and some cancers. Let's be honest, there doesn'tseem to be a single health condition that it can't help insome way. And unlike real drugs, walking has no side effects,is easily accessible, affordable, effective, and best of all youdon’t need a prescription!

Source: https://www.thehealthy.com/exercise/walking/walking-benefits-15-minutes/

(continued from front)

Dr. Christine Lim-KrakosUpper Cervical Chiropractor

Spine Arts Center6120 Brandon Ave., Suite 203 Springfield, VA 22150

703-644-2222www.AtlasSpineArtsCenter.com www.UpperCervicalCare.comwww.globalao.com