Walk, Even During Monsoon
Walking is a free toolkit which anyone can use to transform quality of life. Yet, no test of life can be passed without preparation, so is walking. What Science says?
The English version of this topic is here
এই টপিকের বাংলা লিংকের জন্য এখানে ক্লিক করুন
🚶🏽♀️Walking is a free toolkit which anyone can use to transform quality of life.
Yet, no test of life can be passed without preparation, so is walking. Daily vigilance and mindfulness are needed to keep walking. No matter how easy ‘walking’ may seem, it requires deliberate preparation from the beginning of life.
🤔 Typically, we learn to walk around the age of one. Then we walk for many years, never thinking that walking is such a blessing. Then there comes a day in life when we forget to walk. We must be mindful to ensure this day never arrives.
I have read a lot of research papers over the past few years while researching on walking. I will share all today. Yet, the one that has moved me the most is not a medical information. A comment on YouTube caught my attention. He wrote he has been paralyzed in all four hands and legs for 11 years. Today, he understands how much luxury walking is for people.
😥 Walking less -leads to less sleep, brittle bones, chest infection, constipation, various infections. We suffer from loneliness, loss of confidence, chance of cancers increases.
👉🏾 At least in four important turns in life, humans turn off the switch of walking . Not willingly, though. It happens when they are most unaware. Have indomitable courage from childhood so that you can get through these times like a champion.
🤸🏽♀️ A) Falling or Fall
👉🏾 Data from England reveals that one out of every three people over the age of 65, and half of those over the age of 80, will fall at least once per year.
👉🏾 The tendency to fall increases with age. They don’t always stumble on stairs. A good number will fall on flat surfaces right inside the house. If they had walked less in recent years, the chances of fall are significantly higher.
A fall to the ground may not cause serious injury. But at this age, as bones become brittle, fractures can easily occur.
👉🏾 Not only that, a kind of depression encroaches on to people’s mind. How come I cannot even walk in my own house? - this thought grips them tightly. Confidence is lost. In fear, she walks less and less and then one day she forgets about walking.
💪🏽 It's crucial to maintain your strength so you can keep walking, even during challenging times.
👩🏻🦽 B) Knee arthritis or discomfort,
👉🏾 Many say they can’t walk because of their knees. Their knees are so bad they can barely walk.
First of all, keep enough calcium in the diet. Go to the sun every day. DO everything so that you do not become obese or overweight at any time of life. Your knee then will stay strong for many years to come. If the condition of the knee is so bad that you cannot even walk, then definitely see an orthopedic doctor. Replace the knee or treat it properly.
It is impossible for that knee to get better if it is always rested without walking. If you stop or reduce walking to save your knee, the impact on your life and future health is dire. So take it seriously and sincerely.
Rather than waiting to address your knee issue, take proactive steps to find a remedy- starting today. Do not lose the battle of life because of your knees.
🫀 C) At the time of a complex diagnosis such as cancer, heart or kidney diseases, etc.
👉🏾 Many people start forgetting to walk around such times. The shock of events is such that - after such diagnosis - day after day people stay at the corner of the house. Keep on suffering from anxiety and fear.
👉🏾 It is important to remember that walking plays a leading role in the treatment of each of these ailments. Try not to miss even a single day of walking. One day your cancer- specialist, or cardiologist will say - walk walk! Walk as much as you can.
But do not wait for the doctor to say. Keep on walking in your own rhythm. Sometimes people forget to walk because of neurological reasons. Parkinson’s disease, dementia, paralysis- in such problems, people have to stop walking one day. It is out of her control.
👉🏾 However, if you keep on walking and exercising every day from the beginning of life. Then you can delay dementia and nerve diseases as much as possible (Elwood et al., 2013).
😠 D) Family turmoil or fight with loved ones
Many elderly people begin to shut themselves up at home during these depressing days. These days she forgot to walk outside. Remember one thing. No matter how bad you feel or how angry you are, never forget to walk. No matter how upset, or disappointed you are- never miss a day of walking outside your home.
👉🏾 One day all these turmoils will quieten down. . If you can’t walk regularly then, that will be a problem. Stavanger is one of the oldest cities in Norway. An iconic 2022 Research by Prof Grassini proves that if you go for a walk outside every day, see new people’s faces and walk among green grass & trees, it will elevate your mood like no other medicine (Grassini, 2022).
🚶🏻 Now coming to the benefits of walking,
There are at least four major benefits of walking
🦵🏻 1) Relief from body aches and pains and orthopedic problems
The number of bones in our body is 206 and the number of joints is about 350. The number of joints in the spine alone is 100 or more. The greater are the number of joints, the greater are the chances of pain.
Between the 33 small bones in the spine, there is a jelly-type substance called cartilage, slightly larger than a carrom men. It is commonly known as disc.
The sides of this disc have blood flow. But no blood reaches to its center. The this area waits for the nutrition. As only during walking and exercise it gets its food. In those few minutes of movement, nutrients and oxygen will flow from the periphery of the disc to the center of the disc.
If you forget to walk or don’t pay enough attention to your body, the centre cartilages break down. As a result, neck and back pain will increase. Then many stop moving because of fear. And cartilage will get damaged more. It’s like a self-inflicted injury and a vicious cycle.
At this time it will be tempting to feel that once I get better I will resume walking. That’s a big trap. If you don’t walk, you will never get better. So if one thinks that he will be completely cured and then will start walking, then that day will never come. So consult your doctor and start walking. The pain will gradually fade away. Walking is a great medicine, second to none.
🦹🏻♂️ 2) Walking has cancer fighting power. Increases immunity.
👉🏾 A study by Qiu, Bachman and Alexander published in the British Medical Journal in 2016 showed that regular physical activity reduces the risk of stomach, breast and uterine cancer (Kyu et al., 2016).
Research by Matthews and Moore in the 2020 Journal of Clinical Oncology shows that walking can reduce cancer risk (Matthews et al.,2020). 
That’s 3 cancers. Wait for more.
👉🏾 Most surprising is Widerpass's research. This research was done on 14 lakh people. It showed, a total of one dozen i.e. nine more cancers are reduced by regular walking (Moore et al., 2016).
👉🏾 Walk as much as possible avoiding the strong sun. Walking reduces stress hormones, besides reducing the harmful effects of some bad chemicals.
🩻 Natural killer cells are released from the bone marrow.
👉🏾 Natural killer cells in turn fights against viruses, bacteria and cancer. You get a happy health.
🤯 3) Increasing memory.
👉🏾 Medical research is advancing rapidly. If we don’t talk about one of these studies, our article will remain incomplete. This study was done on eighty, eighty-year-old women. Who never exercised or walked regularly.
In this case, they were motivated to do some physical exercise. The result was most striking. Within just six months, an unprecedented change was seen in an organ called the hippocampus of their brain. Remember this is even after eighty! (ten Brinke et al.,2015)👉🏾 Hippocampus of the brain tends to shrink with age. But it was found that this hippocampus will get rejuvenated if you exercise regularly. And a healthy hippocampus means better memory, better decision-making, and, most importantly, better survival.
👵🏽 So, if you can have hope even at eighty. Keep your body fit and strong.
👉🏾 Research by Professor Hill of Illinois revealed that regular walking increases brain-derived neurotrophic factor or BDNF. (Hill & Polk, 2019) It improves memory.
👉🏾 Research reveals that this four letter chemical nourish the human brain in various ways and help make better decisions in the future. More search continued to find the relation between this brain-chemical and walking.
👉🏾 In a research paper published in the Royal Society, it was revealed that the real source of that relationship is hidden in the habits, thoughts and behavior of our ancestors several hundreds of thousand years ago.
For details you may read my write up. I will share the link in the description box. It will take time, but worth it.
💪🏼 4) Walking is a source of self-confidence
👉🏾 Walking is not just walking one step at a time. It stimulates various brain centers, enhancing blood flow to the nerves. A daily walk is an opportunity to renew your license to have a healthy future.
Walking outside -requires all our senses to work together. The sense of synchrony. If a bicycle or car passes by, you will learn to avoid it. Eyesight needs to be sharp enough to prevent you from stumbling. The ear has to be alert, to check from which side a bike will pass from behind.
Our hands and feet move while walking. But one has to move in such a way that no auto-rickshaw or car passing by is hit. It is called hand-eye coordination. Walking in a crowded street needs space-eye coordination.
👉🏾 Moreover, the monotony of being indoors all day is shattered when you encounter new faces on the road. Whether or not you talk to them. It has been proven in neuroscience that when we see many people in front of our eyes, our body and mind become more relaxed.
👉🏾 The green leaves of the trees, the chirping of the birds, the call of the hawker, the sizzles and clanking sounds of the roadside fast-food stall. The noise of people walking and talking fills our body and mind with the joy of life.
🌤️ So get up in the morning and pray that we never forget to walk.
👉🏾 But remember, waking up in the morning and just telling yourself that you will pass the board exam will not help you pass the exam. Just like the board exam, it takes a lot of effort and an indomitable mindset to bring about positive change. Write ‘ I will walk outside every day’ on small coloured post-its and stick them to every room at home. Walk deliberately. Everyday
This is an impartial , unsponsored health information. For public awareness and not a replacement of Medical Advice.
References:
[1]
P. Elwood et al., “Healthy lifestyles reduce the incidence of chronic diseases and dementia: evidence from the Caerphilly cohort study,” PLoS One, vol. 8, no. 12, p. e81877, 2013, doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0081877.
[2]
S. Grassini, “A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis of Nature Walk as an Intervention for Anxiety and Depression,” Journal of Clinical Medicine, vol. 11, no. 6, Art. no. 6, Jan. 2022, doi: 10.3390/jcm11061731.
[3]
T. Hill and J. D. Polk, “BDNF, endurance activity, and mechanisms underlying the evolution of hominin brains,” Am J Phys Anthropol, vol. 168 Suppl 67, pp. 47–62, Jan. 2019, doi: 10.1002/ajpa.23762.
[4]
H.-R. Hong et al., “Effect of walking exercise on abdominal fat, insulin resistance and serum cytokines in obese women,” J Exerc Nutrition Biochem, vol. 18, no. 3, pp. 277–285, Sep. 2014, doi: 10.5717/jenb.2014.18.3.277.
[5]
H. H. Kyu et al., “Physical activity and risk of breast cancer, colon cancer, diabetes, ischemic heart disease, and ischemic stroke events: systematic review and dose-response meta-analysis for the Global Burden of Disease Study 2013,” BMJ, vol. 354, p. i3857, Aug. 2016, doi: 10.1136/bmj.i3857.
[6]
C. E. Matthews et al., “Amount and Intensity of Leisure-Time Physical Activity and Lower Cancer Risk,” J Clin Oncol, vol. 38, no. 7, pp. 686–697, Mar. 2020, doi: 10.1200/JCO.19.02407.
[7]
S. C. Moore et al., “Association of Leisure-Time Physical Activity With Risk of 26 Types of Cancer in 1.44 Million Adults,” JAMA Intern Med, vol. 176, no. 6, pp. 816–825, Jun. 2016, doi: 10.1001/jamainternmed.2016.1548.
[8]
NIH - NCI, “Physical Activity and Cancer Fact Sheet - NCI.” Accessed: Feb. 06, 2024. [Online]. Available: https://www.cancer.gov/about-cancer/causes-prevention/risk/obesity/physical-activity-fact-sheet
[9]
L. F. ten Brinke et al., “Aerobic exercise increases hippocampal volume in older women with probable mild cognitive impairment: a 6-month randomised controlled trial,” Br J Sports Med, vol. 49, no. 4, pp. 248–254, Feb. 2015, doi: 10.1136/bjsports-2013-093184.
Search tool: Inspiration Diary BDNF Stress Exercise Hippocampus Memory Walk Walking Cancer prevention
The prayer with which u ended this informative piece, is my prayer too. I too wish to remain active till my dying day.