Walking

A 2-Minute Anti-Aging Activity

Support.Walking.FootprintAmassing published studies show that sitting for extended periods of time each day leads to increased risk for early death, as well as heart disease, diabetes and other health conditions. Emerging data suggests that it is not sufficient to simply replace sitting with standing. Srinivasan Beddhu, from the University of Utah (Utah, USA), and colleagues analyzed data collected in 3,626 men and women enrolled in the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey, 2003-2004.  The team found that by replacing sitting for 2 minutes each hour with walking for 2 minutes hourly, lowered the risk of dying by 33%.  The study authors submit that: “Interventions that replace sedentary duration with an increase in light activity duration might confer a survival benefit.”

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Source: WorldHealth.net

Dance Those Cares Away!

Activity.DanceDancing can reduce seniors’ knee and hip pain and also improve their walking, a new study finds.

The research involved 34 seniors, average age 80, who all had pain or stiffness in their knees or hips as a result mainly of arthritis. The participants – mostly women – were assigned to a group that danced for 45 minutes up to two times a week for 12 weeks or to a control group that did not dance.

By the end of the 12 weeks, those who danced had less pain in their knees and hips and were able to walk faster, said Jean Krampe, an assistant professor of nursing at Saint Louis University and lead author of the study. The use of pain medicines fell by 39 percent among seniors in the dance group but rose 21 percent among those who did not dance, she noted.

The findings about walking speed are important, she added, because seniors who walk too slowly are more likely to fall, be hospitalized or require care from others.

“Dance-based therapy for older adults needs to be gentle, slow and include options so it can be performed standing or sitting, because their fatigue or pain level can change day to day,” Krampe explained.

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Source: MedicineNet.

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6,000 Steps a Day Keeps Knee Osteoarthritis Limitations Away

Support.Walking.SkeletonA new study shows that walking reduces risk of functional limitation associated with knee osteoarthritis (OA). In fact, the study funded in part by grants from the National Institutes of Health (NIH) and published in the American College of Rheumatology (ACR) journal, Arthritis Care & Research, suggests that walking 6,000 or more steps per day may protect those with or at risk of knee of OA from developing mobility issues, such as difficulty getting up from a chair and climbing stairs.

“Our study examines if more walking equates with better functioning, and if so, how much daily walking is needed to minimize risk of developing problems with mobility in people with knee OA,” said Daniel White, PT, ScD, from Sargent College at Boston University in Massachusetts.

Dr. White concludes, “Walking is an inexpensive activity and despite the common popular goal of walking 10,000 steps per day, our study finds only 6,000 steps are necessary to realize benefits. We encourage those with or at risk of knee OA to walk at least 3,000 or more steps each day, and ultimately progress to 6,000 steps daily to minimize the risk of developing difficulty with mobility.”

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Source: Medical News Today.

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Walking Boosts Creative Thinking

Activity.PeopleWalkingNew research shows that walking boosts creative thinking. In a series of experiments, researchers from Stanford University in California compared levels of creativity in people while they walked with while they sat and found creative output went up by an average of 60% while walking.

Now, a study by Dr. Marily Oppezzo and Daniel Schwartz, a professor at Stanford Graduate School of Education, may explain why. They report their findings in the Journal of Experimental Psychology: Learning, Memory and Cognition.

They found that the act of walking itself does the trick – it does not matter whether the walk is indoors or outdoors, it has the same effect in boosting creative inspiration.

In one experiment, they found that compared with sitting down, walking indoors on a treadmill facing a blank wall or walking outdoors in the fresh air produced twice as many creative responses.

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Source: Medical News Today.