Walking every day can extend your life by seven years
According to health experts, just 25 minutes per day of brisk walking can add up to seven years to your life. Moderate exercise such as this will halve the chance of experiencing a life threatening heart attack for someone in their fifties or sixties.
Exercise has been long been seen as a tool to cut the risks associated with obesity and diabetes. And in the U.K., coronary heart disease is the single biggest killer, mostly due to obesity. A new study from the European Society of Cardiology presents even more good news. Exercise can actually increase lifespan, and we’ve not even talking about a crazy amount – a 25 minute walk, brisk and every day, will do the trick.
Exercise slows the ageing process
The study was conducted with 69 healthy non-smoking individuals, aged 30 to 60, who did not exercise regularly. The participants did six months of regular aerobic exercise, high intensity interval training and weight training. Blood tests taken during this time showed that an anti-ageing process had been triggered by the exercise which helped repair old DNA. This suggests that when people exercise, even when they start later in life, they are able to slow the ageing process.
Exercise is an anti-depressant
The study showed that exercise buys about three to seven additional years of life. It’s an anti-depressant, improves cognitive function and new evidence shows that it may even stop the onset of dementia. Health professionals now suggest that everyone should do at least 20 minutes of walking or running per day. It’s never to late to start either, as exercise can benefit anyone at any age. The more active you are, the more benefit you will have.
This is great news for us who like to spend lots of time in the outdoors – and just confirms what we already feel. Exercise just makes you feel better and healthier, and your quality of life is generally much better with it. It’s good to know that it extends our lifespan as well, so we can enjoy a higher quality of life when we’re older.
It’s also never too late. I personally know two men, who at age 75 and 78, are still climbing mountains, beating people a quarter of their age. It’s a great inspriation!
Source: The Independent U.K. (August 30, 2015)
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