Saturday, October 11, 2014

Benefits of walking

Ferris Jabr asks:
What is it about walking, in particular, that makes it so amenable to thinking and writing? The answer begins with changes to our chemistry. When we go for a walk, the heart pumps faster, circulating more blood and oxygen not just to the muscles but to all the organs—including the brain. Many experiments have shown that after or during exercise, even very mild exertion, people perform better on tests of memory and attention. Walking on a regular basis also promotes new connections between brain cells, staves off the usual withering of brain tissue that comes with age, increases the volume of the hippocampus (a brain region crucial for memory), and elevates levels of molecules that both stimulate the growth of new neurons and transmit messages between them.
Read everything you ever wanted to know about the advantages of walking here.
Thanks to Ann Voskamp

Yesterday my car would not start, so I walked to work. It was such a good experience that I am thinking of doing it regularly. It helped my mood for the rest of the day. It had rained throughout the night, and I have no garage. It was cold. Those are the conditions my car does not react well to. Is it time to trade it in, spend lots of money on finding what the problem is, or just take advantage of the opportunity to walk to work?

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