Would you like to know how to revolutionize your health? Dr. James Brown at the British Science Festival suggests walking. Walking is freely available, and has no harmful side effects. Wisconsinites probably recall former Governor Thompson promoting pedometers and clocking 10,000 steps each day when serving as US Health and Social Services Secretary. Many times at the local dog park I have enjoyed an uplifting walk. And when I walk alone, I can take those quiet moments to connect with the “kingdom of heaven” within. Having a dog helps, connecting with the divine is priceless. Both walking and praying are healthy practices, as my colleague Tony Lobl writes. Read an excerpt or the full article below:
Tony Lobl–Did you know there is a “wonder drug” that isn’t available on the NHS, but is still freely available? All we have to do is use it.
That was probably the most intriguing message at this year’s British Science Festival.
Dr James Brown – from the University’s School of Life and Health Sciences – claimed a 30-minute daily walk could revolutionise people’s health.
He insisted a half-hour stroll could positively impact everything from Alzheimer’s to obesity and from diabetes to depression. Additionally, it could reduce anxiety, halve arthritic pain and even lower the risk of dying.
In other words, you can do yourself a world of good with a daily walk. Or if you can’t motivate yourself to get out and about, get a dog who will take the lead!
And if you do stroll through your neighbourhood you will be in the company of such luminaries as Charles Dickens, William Wordsworth and many others who regularly walked in order to get their creative juices flowing.
“There is something about the pace of walking and the pace of thinking that goes together,” says Geoff Nicholson, author of The Lost Art of Walking.