Daily 10,000-step walks have significantly enhanced my sleep quality - discover the reasons behind this beneficial habit.
Walking, a simple and accessible form of exercise, has been found to have several scientifically backed benefits for improving sleep quality. According to Joanna Hall, a walking expert, personal trainer, and founder of WalkActive, who holds a master's degree in sports science from Loughborough University, daily walking can significantly enhance sleep quality.
Recent research suggests that even moderate activity like walking can increase the amount of deep, restorative sleep—the phase critical for physical and mental recovery. Regular daily movement helps to regulate circadian rhythms, which support consistent sleep patterns and better overall sleep quality.
Walking reduces stress by lowering cortisol (a stress hormone), while boosting sleep-regulating hormones like serotonin and melatonin. This helps ease anxiety and depressive symptoms, promoting better sleep.
A 2020 study tracked the step count of 59 adults to draw conclusions about sleep quality and activity level. The findings revealed that those who were more active slept better and for longer. The author, who started walking 10,000 steps every day around this time last year, noticed a quick improvement in their sleep quality as their 10,000-steps streak got longer.
Additional benefits of daily walking on sleep include improving sleep continuity and depth, enhancing overall energy and mood, offering a low-cost, accessible natural remedy for sleep problems, and being effective within 8 to 10 weeks of consistent practice. Walking, in fact, has been ranked just behind yoga for sleep improvements among exercise types.
However, it's important to avoid vigorous exercise close to bedtime (at least 90 minutes before) as high-intensity exercise may negatively affect sleep onset.
Walking in outdoor environments can stimulate the brain in different ways, exposing it to optic flow, according to Joanna Hall. This simple method can help reduce stress levels, which in turn can improve sleep quality.
Walking daily establishes a routine that allows other metabolic responses to settle down in the body, creating consistency, which can decrease stress levels and affect sleep ability. Thus, incorporating daily walking—especially of moderate intensity and spread throughout the week—can significantly improve sleep quality by fostering deeper, more restorative sleep and better circadian regulation while reducing stress.
In conclusion, for those seeking a natural remedy for sleep problems, daily walking could be a beneficial strategy for improving sleep quality. By taking a walk each day, one might find themselves drifting off to sleep more easily and waking up feeling more rested.
- Daily walking, by fostering deeper, more restorative sleep and better circadian regulation, can significantly improve mental health as better sleep quality helps ease anxiety and depressive symptoms.
- Incorporating walking, an accessible and simple form of exercise, into a health-and-wellness routine can aid weight loss, as regular movement helps to regulate circadian rhythms, which support consistent sleep patterns and better overall sleep quality.
- According to recent science, even a moderate activity like walking can increase the amount of deep, restorative sleep—the phase critical for physical and mental recovery, while reducing stress by lowering cortisol levels and boosting sleep-regulating hormones like serotonin and melatonin.
- For those looking to enhance their fitness-and-exercise routine, walking daily, especially of moderate intensity and spread throughout the week, can provide additional benefits, including improving sleep continuity and depth, enhancing overall energy and mood, and offering a low-cost, natural remedy for sleep problems.
