An article by Patricia Calleja Ruiz,
Technician in auxiliary nursing care
Specialist in accompaniment, care and labor therapy for the elderly
Leaving home again is not an easy task for our elderly people, due to the fear generated by a resurgence of Covid-19. Therefore, it is remembered that you can enjoy exercise in the open air, maintaining a physical distance 1.5 meters from other people, use face mask and after walking wash your hands.
Walking is a simple activity that positively influences health on a physical, mental and social level.
“Walk” It is a way of life to maintain health. Staying active by performing complete, simple, regular and moderate physical exercise helps against aging, as well as contributing to achieving a healthy and positive old age. It is a very important and simple prevention tool for diseases that can condition the lives of older people for the rest of their lives. Positively influences health, at physical, mental and social levelssimply with a minimum daily routine of half an hour daily. At the same time, it is ideal to take a walk, in a moderate way, to relax the body and mind.
“Walking”functions are improved cardio-respiratory and the bone health, muscle In addition, to avoid cognitive risk. It is the best solution for most of our elderly, and especially for those who do not do any type of physical exercise. Walking is a good solution for sedentary peopleit only takes one comfortable shoes and willpower for this practice that prevents diseases. It is one of the physical activities recommended by all doctors and for all ages.
It is recommended that all older people know their benefitswhich have effects very positive to health and practice it regularly:
- sleep improvement: Increases the time of deep sleep phases and decreases the number of times one wakes up at night.
- Reduces the risk of hypertension: Decreases blood pressure values.
- It’s a natural antidepressant: Natural way to end anxiety and depression. Helping to clear the mind.
- Prevents the onset of diabetes: Exercising daily helps burn sugar, positively influences the prevention of diabetes.
- Helps with weight loss: Helps burn accumulated fat and helps the metabolism function.
- Improves circulation: Walking helps the body’s circulation improve, and thus prevents the appearance of varicose veins and other pathologies derived from poor circulation.
- strengthens the heart: Regular walking reduces the risk of heart disease.
- favors the good distribution of blood throughout the body: With the increase in pulmonary ventilation obtained by walking, the oxygenation of the body’s tissues and cells is improved, which is especially important for the activity of the heart (myocardium) and brain.
- decreases the arterial risk In older people with arterial circulatory deficit: When they walk, the most important thing is that it trains the vasodilation of the artery, and when the circulation in this area is deficient, it produces an increase in collateral circulation.
- It benefits the quality of life of people who suffer chronic venous insufficiency of the lower extremities (varicose veins predisposing to thrombophlebitis).
A emphasizes that it can also be a socialization activityhow are the outdoor routes. Municipal bodies organize healthy walks and walks. This type of activity benefits the people who do it and favors the inclusion of the most disadvantaged elderly in our city.
To maintain a healthy physical state we must know how the famous dynamics of the Stepsthat our mobile phone It is controlled automatically for us:
- For healthy adults: Walking less than 5,000 steps a day is equivalent to a “sedentary” lifestyle.
- For healthy adults: Walking less than 5,000 steps a day is equivalent to a “sedentary” lifestyle.
- For healthy adults: Walking less than 5,000 steps a day is equivalent to a “sedentary” lifestyle.
- For healthy adults: Walking less than 5,000 steps a day is equivalent to a “sedentary” lifestyle.
- For healthy adults: Walking less than 5,000 steps a day is equivalent to a “sedentary” lifestyle.
The people that have circulation problems both in the arterial and venous section, frequent in many older people, they benefit greatly from this practice of walking habitually. It has been shown to improve the efficiency of the functioning of the heart, blood vessels and lungs: the aerobic capacity of walkers increases by 19% and the risk of disease is reduced by 41%. Also, it’s a activity accessible to anyone and encourages them to establish and maintain a routine.