Walking has multiple physical and mental health benefits. In an age when anxiety and depression have hit an all-time high, joining a walking club may help to serve as an antidote or a remedy against mental health.
It’s a long-held fact that exercise is great for stimulating brain chemicals and helping to improve mood. However, even people that exercise regularly can fall into depression.
That suggests humans need more than exercise alone. Recent studies show that depression is linked with social isolation. Humans have an innate need for contact and engaging interactions with other people.
Joining a walking club, therefore, makes perfect sense. Walking is a low-entry form of exercise almost anybody can do, you walk a sufficient distance to get plenty of exercise, but crucially you walk at a pace that enables you to engage in conversation with your fellow ramblers.
Meet New People
For singles, people that live alone, or individuals that don’t have a close connection with family and friends, meeting like-minded people is crucial to improving mental health.
Essentially, avoiding anxiety and depression boils down to emotional nourishment. If you don’t have conversations that stimulate your brain or excite you, you feel lonely and disconnected from society and your energy remains in a low vibration.
When you connect with other people, you feel supported and valued. Emotional connections play an important role in helping us to feel secure, respected, and loved. These emotional triggers have a knock-on effect on your overall mood and sense of wellbeing.
Rambling clubs attract a variety of individuals with a wide range of interests. An entire club will typically have a broad general knowledge. They will also have knowledge and connections that may be of interest to you outside the walking club.
Improve Your Fitness
How you look and feel on a day-to-day basis can impact your overall wellbeing. A recent study released by the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) indicates that moderate levels of exercise for at least 2.5 hours a week helps to reduce common symptoms of depression.
Walking clubs organize long walks that help to burn away the calories and improve your fitness levels. Exercise releases endorphins in the brain, a naturally occurring chemical that boosts your mood.
If you feel your fitness is not up to scratch to manage a full day hike, joining a walking club may also give you the incentive to exercise throughout the week to build up your fitness lessons.
An exercise routine will also help you to manage your weight and your diet. Eating suitable types of food can also play an active role in how you feel. An effective form of exercise for people that have not exercised in a while is to start a brisk walking program.
Brisk walking a couple of days a week helps to improve your fitness levels, strengthen your immune system and help to reduce depression. Joining a walking club will motivate you to get started – and help you to overcome depression.