What better time to take a walk than first thing in the morning? If you get up early enough, you can bask in a beautiful sunrise and enjoy the sounds of the rest of the world slowly waking up. But taking a walk first thing in the morning has health benefits too. Let’s look at how a morning walk can improve your mental and physical health.
The Circadian Benefits of an Early Morning Walk
A morning walk is a splendid chance to start your day in harmony with your circadian rhythm. Circadian rhythms arise from an internal body clock that regulates your sleep and wake cycles, as well as almost every hormone and brain chemical that affects your mood and health. They even affect blood sugar control and metabolism.
Research shows that exposing your eyes to natural light as early in the day as possible helps set your biological clock and circadian rhythms in a way that optimizes mental and physical health.
Better Blood Glucose Control
Some people walk before breakfast, but if you take a stroll after the morning meal, walking will help your blood sugar readings. Researchers have shown that even just 10 minutes of walking after a meal can improve the way cells process glucose and improve blood sugar control. Whether or not you are diabetic, this is important for your metabolic health and risk of weight gain and type 2 diabetes.
In one study, taking a 10-minute walk reduced average blood sugar levels in test subjects. In fact, it was more effective to walk for 10 minutes after a meal than to walk for 30 minutes at any other time in the day. Their blood sugar drops on average were 12% more when participants walked after a meal than when they walked other times. So, take a few deep breaths after a meal, put on your shoes, and go for a walk, even if it’s short.
Relieves Stress
Outdoor walks are a great way to relax, relieve stress, and start the day on a positive note. One study found that walking in nature reduces activity in the pre-frontal cortex, a part of the brain that’s busy when you’re ruminating or worrying. You can reign in those harmful and non-productive thoughts that keep you awake at night by reducing pre-frontal cortex activity. In fact, research links exercise in the morning with better sleep.
Plus, walking affects brain biochemicals, such as serotonin, that affect mood. As long as the walk is long or intense enough, walking may also trigger the release of feel-good hormones called endorphins, which can ease pain and increase happiness. In addition, walking time can give you time to meditate. Some people refer to walking as “meditation in motion.” Who says you have to meditate sitting or lying down?
Digest Your Breakfast
Depending on the intensity of your movements, exercise can have either beneficial or negative effects on your digestive organs. A light walk after a meal aids digestion by boosting your body’s blood flow, which includes your digestive tract. In addition, walking helps you get rid of trapped gas.
For some people, more intense exercise, especially exercise that causes your body to bounce, can worsen digestive problems. Plus, beyond a certain exercise intensity, so much blood flow shifts to your working muscles that your digestive tract gets short-changed. That can worsen digestion. Maintaining a light intensity is key. Do not walk too fast; keep it leisurely. Save the fast-paced exercise for two or more hours after a meal.
Creativity and Communion with Nature.
Taking a daytime stroll outdoors provides the opportunity to enjoy the sights, sounds, and aroma of nature – wind-blown trees, colorful flowers and waterfalls, and animals. The beauty of nature reveals itself with the first rays of light and if you get up early enough, you can even watch the sunrise.
Changing your perspective and supercharge your ability to think differently and be more creative. When is the last time you stopped to appreciate the trees, flowers, and birds? A morning walk gives you chance to do that. Not only will a morning walk reduce stress and set a positive tone for the day, but exercise also lowers your blood pressure.
The Bottom Line
A morning walk can help you feel alert and balanced. Set a goal of taking a morning walk before the rest of the world is awake. You’ll be shocked at how energizing and relaxing exercising first thing in the morning feels and how it sets a positive tone for the day.