The Benefits of Morning Walks: Positive Impact on Body and Mind

Eng ver.

Hello, this is Pooh.

Today, I would like to talk about the benefits of morning walks.

Do you ever find it difficult to feel energetic even after waking up in the morning?

With the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, we have been experiencing a period of increased stress due to changes in our environment, concerns about infections, and worries about the future.

Continuously experiencing high levels of stress can have negative effects on our physical and mental well-being.

That’s where “morning walks” come in. Let’s give it a try!

Upon researching about morning walks, I discovered various benefits for both the mind and body.

In this article, I will introduce the effects of morning walks and share my own personal experiences with them.

By incorporating morning walks into your routine, you can start your day with a positive mindset.

The Effects of Morning Walks
Effective Morning Walk Practices
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参照先
Summary

The Effects of Morning Walks

Boosting Daily Performance

Morning walks have the potential to improve your performance throughout the day.

Engaging in a morning walk activates a substance called “serotonin” in the brain. Serotonin is associated with wakefulness, mood, and motivation.

When serotonin levels are low, it can lead to feelings of depression. However, by activating serotonin through morning walks, you can experience a refreshing mood, increased motivation, and enhanced concentration, ultimately elevating your daily performance.

（参照元：最強のモーニングルーティンは｢1日30分の朝散歩｣である）

Research suggests that serotonin is activated through activities such as “exposure to morning sunlight,” “rhythmic movements,” and “chewing.”

Therefore, by going for a morning walk, you can accomplish activities like “exposure to morning sunlight” and “rhythmic movements,” which contribute to serotonin activation.

Additionally, taking your time to chew and savor breakfast after the walk can further stimulate serotonin activation.

By doing so, you can start your day with a refreshing mood and a sense of accomplishment.

Resetting the Internal Body Clock through Morning Walks

Morning walks can have a resetting effect on the internal body clock.

While the human internal body clock operates on approximately a 24-hour and 10-minute cycle, it slightly deviates from the Earth’s rotation period.

（参照元：体内リズムの重要性体内リズムとは）

Our bodies possess an internal clock-resetting mechanism to correct this slight misalignment.

The internal body clock-resetting mechanism adjusts our internal rhythms to synchronize with a 24-hour cycle through various stimuli we encounter in daily life.

Thanks to this mechanism, we can align our daily activities with the 24-hour environmental cycle.

Light, particularly, plays a significant role in resetting the internal body clock.

To reset the internal body clock effectively, exposure to sunlight (at least 2,500 lux) is crucial.

Therefore, going for a morning walk and basking in the sunlight is highly effective.

Even on cloudy or rainy days, the brightness can range from 5,000 to 10,000 lux, thus offering the potential for resetting the internal body clock through walking.

The internal body clock regulates various biological rhythms, including sleep, wakefulness, body temperature, hormone secretion, metabolism, circulation, and cell division.

However, if the internal body clock becomes disrupted, it can lead to disturbances in internal regulation and may contribute to conditions such as hypertension, diabetes, cancer, sleep disorders, and depression.

Maintaining a regular daily rhythm is essential, and morning walks play a crucial role in this regard.

By resetting the internal body clock through morning walks, you can lead a healthier lifestyle.

The Vitamin D-Generating Effect of Morning Walks

Morning walks can have a beneficial effect on the generation of vitamin D.

Vitamin D is an essential nutrient that aids in calcium absorption and strengthens bones.

Recent research has also suggested that vitamin D may have immune-boosting effects and be beneficial for conditions such as cancer, diabetes, autism, and fertility.

Vitamin D is known to be a nutrient that is often deficient, with approximately 80% of Japanese individuals lacking adequate levels, and 40% experiencing deficiency.

Vitamin D deficiency can lead to osteoporosis and an increased risk of fractures even with minor impact.

In the case of elderly individuals, fractures can result in muscle weakness, leading to the need for nursing care or a bedridden state.

However, morning walks can help prevent vitamin D deficiency.

Vitamin D is generated when the skin is exposed to ultraviolet radiation from sunlight. A 15 to 30-minute walk can generate half of the daily required vitamin D.

（参照元：栄養素の説明 – ビタミンビタミンD）

You may have concerns about exposure to ultraviolet radiation, but the morning sunlight is relatively weak, providing a favorable environment for walking.

From a nutritional standpoint, morning walks offer significant benefits.

Effective Morning Walk Practices

Take a walk within one hour of waking up

It’s advisable to go for a morning walk within one hour of waking up.

Waiting too long after waking can shift your internal body clock backward, which would be counterproductive.

Walk for about 15 to 30 minutes

A 15 to 30-minute walk in the morning is sufficient to yield significant benefits.

For healthy individuals, around 15 minutes seems to activate serotonin.

However, be cautious not to exceed 30 minutes as prolonged serotonin activation can lead to fatigue and have the opposite effect.

Maintain a steady rhythm while walking

To further enhance the benefits, maintaining a steady rhythm while walking is effective.

Serotonin is said to be activated during rhythmic movements.

Pay attention to your stride, step count, and breathing intervals during the walk.

Avoid UV protection measures

Sunlight is necessary for serotonin production and vitamin D activation.

Wearing sunglasses or using sunscreen for UV protection can diminish the effectiveness.

As the morning sun is not as strong as during midday, there is no need for UV protection. So, go for your walk without such measures.

Have breakfast after the morning walk

Having breakfast after your morning walk is beneficial.

It helps to align the “brain’s internal clock” and the “body’s internal clock.”

Since rhythmic exercise is effective for serotonin activation, chewing breakfast thoroughly contributes to serotonin activation.

Take aimless walks

For introspective time, aimless walks in the morning are recommended.

This concept is mentioned in Atsuhiko Nakata’s YouTube University lecture “Do What You’ve Always Wanted to Do.”

Morning walks are suggested as a way to realize “what you truly want to do.” Instead of combining walks with shopping or walking a dog, try taking walks with no specific purpose.

This allows you to allocate time for self-reflection. Leave your smartphone and music behind, and simply experience the outside scenery and sounds while walking.

In our daily lives, we are constantly bombarded with external stimuli from television, smartphones, computers, podcasts, etc.

Meanwhile, we are gradually losing the time to face ourselves.

It is crucial to find time during the day for quiet moments alone or purposeless time.

By securing such time, you can experience sudden inspirations and increase self-awareness.

So, enjoy a quiet walk without any distractions, appreciating the peaceful moments.

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I also started taking a 20-minute walk around my neighborhood before starting my remote work on certain days.

One change I noticed from trying this was that my body and mind became more awake.

When you spend the whole day at home from morning till night, it’s hard to feel the sense of waking up in the morning. However, going outside for a walk in the morning and being exposed to sunlight made me feel more alert in both my body and mind.

Even after returning from the walk, I found that my body was more active than usual, and I was able to work with a clearer mind. This increased my efficiency and reduced my overtime hours.

Additionally, my mind felt refreshed, allowing me to organize my daily schedule more effectively. I also found myself thinking more positively about things and even came up with several ideas for this blog.

Before completing my walk, I started incorporating pull-ups at a nearby park. Doing 10 to 20 pull-ups not only targets my abs but also raises my body temperature.

As remote work continues and we spend the whole day cooped up at home, it can have a negative impact on our mental well-being. That’s why I strongly recommend incorporating a morning walk into your routine.

参照先

Here are the references I mentioned

I hope these references were helpful in deepening your understanding while creating this article. I encourage everyone to give them a read.

リンク

Summary

In this article, we discussed the benefits of morning walks.

While I had heard that morning walks are good, conducting further research made me realize just how effective they are and how many benefits they offer.

Not only are they important for maintaining health, but they also contribute to mental stability and can lead to new insights and ideas, ultimately enhancing the quality of life.

Since incorporating morning walks into my routine, I have been able to start each day feeling refreshed, which has positively impacted my work efficiency and reduced overtime. Additionally, I’ve found time to work on this blog during those spare moments.

I encourage all of you to consider setting aside time for a morning walk. It will enable you to start the day with a positive mindset.

Thank you for reading this article.

Pooh

JPN ver.