Hello Everybody,
We know that walking for weight loss has a lot of benefits. It can relieve short term stress by giving you time to relax and regular walking can help prevent depression. Then there is the list of illnesses exercise combats, such as heart disease, osteoporosis and, of course, the problems associated with obesity.
But does all this exercise cause insomnia? Generally not. There are many causes of insomnia from enhanced stress levels to television in the bedroom and a lot of older people just need less sleep. I would recommend brisk walking in the morning, just because that is the time we are likely to feel most energetic. But an evening stroll may be just the thing to help you unwind. If you do think evening exercise is keeping you awake just cut it out for a few days and see what happens.
Should you find evening walking does cause insomnia the obvious thing to do is walk in the morning instead. But this may not be possible. One of the things you should be doing is to walk 10,000 steps every day. That is about 4 miles and if you can manage it as part of your normal daily activity the problem is solved. You will need a pedometer to monitor how many steps you are taking. These are easily obtained from sports shops or online. Walk whenever you are able and see how the steps add up. You may be walking a lot less than 10,000 steps a day, but do your best to walk as much as possible in the time you have available.
It is unlikely that walking for weight loss will cause insomnia and it is an essential routine for the over 50s. In developed countries life expectancy for a man at age 50 is 78.5 years and for a woman 82.1 years. If they do not have a healthy lifestyle they could spend years battling illness. They may not even reach their estimated life span.
Obesity is one thing that can cause problems, smoking is another. Obese people should eat more healthy food and less of it, as well as getting regular exercise. Smokers should stop now.
Within 5-10 years of stopping smoking the risk of a heart attack will be the same as those who have never smoked. The risk of lung cancer will go down as well. Stopping smoking is not easy. But do it if you want to stay healthy and live as long as possible.
It is all very simple. A slim non smoker will live a longer happier life than an obese smoker. Which do you want to be? The choice is yours.
See you soon,
Peter Stockwell
26 January 2010
Photo. Saxonfenken (Flickr)
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