Evening walks are great to relieve a day's stress and tension, thereby allowing you to have a restful sleep. Evening walks can help you digest food better and ensure you do not feel bloated before sleeping. Brisk evening walks are an easy and effective way to lose weight and strengthen muscles.
Improves Deep Sleep Time
Deep sleep is time is essential for physical recovery after exercise. Studies reveal that people who engage in evening walks have a three percent higher deep sleep time than people who do not engage in any physical activity.
While it's a popular belief that exercise before bed can prevent sleep, the National Sleep Foundation actually found in 2013 that exercising whenever you can, even at night, helps you sleep better. Numerous studies have also found that walking reduces stress and anxiety.
Walking in the Evening
If you're not an early riser or you're pretty busy during the first part of the day, an evening exercise may suit you just fine. Here are the benefits of walking in the evening: According to research, exercising in the evening can be an effective way to control your blood sugar level.
Night walking is the perfect meditation as it calms the nervous system and balances the brain's hemispheres. Think of night walking as a meditation in motion. Once done, their night walking meditation may feel entirely different as toxins (and other junk) have been forced out of the physical and mental body.
This is because the primary sense (for many of us, sight) takes a back seat while our other senses start to overcompensate, making you feel very alive. My happiness levels would often receive a boost not only because it felt like an adventure, but because my mind was much less distracted.
“Only in the past few hundred years have we shut ourselves off from our natural surroundings. Walking at night is a powerful way of reconnecting. When your vision is reduced, your other senses are sharpened.” Darkness is a thing we have come to fear and shy away from.
How does a night walk help? It aids digestion and helps to burn more calories, which in turn ensures that you lose the fat from your belly soon.
“Morning exercise initiates gene programs in the muscle cells, making them more effective and better capable of metabolizing sugar and fat. Evening exercise, on the other hand, increases whole-body energy expenditure for an extended period of time.”
As per the new study, exercising late at night can raise your heartbeat and disrupt your sleep. Exercising generally leaves you dehydrated and releases stress hormones in the body, leading you to stay alert. The bright lights at the gym and stress hormones stop melatonin, the sleep hormone from being produced.
“Low to moderate intensity is ideal to lower stress levels and avoid raising cortisol levels before bed,” Dr. Carnahan says. Being able to talk comfortably while you walk is one way to tell that you're moving at a good pace. She says to aim for 30 to 60 minutes of strolling at this intensity.
In general, it is fine to work out at any time of day. That said, some researchers suggest that you should stop exercising at least 90 minutes before sleep. This time allows heart rate to slow down and body temperature to return to normal.
The takeaway: Getting regular exercise any time of the day can be added to your list of good sleep hygiene habits, but avoid strenuous physical activity late in the evening.
Apart from morning hours, 4pm to sunset are ideal hours for an outdoor walk. Our body has less perceived exertion, meaning we can exert more and feel less. This makes it the perfect hour for a quick run or a brisk walk. Muscles are warm and flexible, which makes the risks of injuries lower.
Walking after eating can aid in digestion. A study in PLOS One found that walking stimulates the stomach and intestines. This can help food move through the digestive system more rapidly. It can also help reduce bloating, especially for those with irritable bowel syndrome.
An evening stroll is good for your heart health
Research shows walking is one of the easiest ways to improve cardiovascular health. It helps to lower blood pressure and cholesterol and reduce the risk of heart attack.
An early evening walk can help you stay on track with your weight loss goals by burning calories and improving metabolism. It can also help reduce cravings, which can lead to overeating, and improve digestion, which can help your body absorb nutrients more efficiently.
For people who do not experience abdominal pain, fatigue, or other discomfort when walking just after a meal, walking at a brisk speed for 30 minutes as soon as possible just after lunch and dinner leads to more weight loss than does walking for 30 minutes beginning one hour after a meal has been consumed.
Remember, you use the same amount of energy no matter what time of day you walk, so do what is most convenient for you. You may find that asking someone to walk with you will help make it a regular activity. Some people find that keeping an activity diary or log also makes it easier.
According to a 2018 study published in the journal Obesity, walking 10,000 steps a day is associated with weight loss and weight management. Plus, it's a low-impact exercise, making it accessible for all fitness levels.
Start by walking for 10 minutes every day after dinner and slowly increase your time and aim for 30 minutes a day.
Walking at night alone can be relaxing and allows for quiet reflection. However, once the sun goes down it is always safer to walk with a friend or a group.
While it is important to be aware of the risks, it is also important to remember that the majority of people who walk alone at night do not experience any negative incidents. It is essential to take safety precautions such as avoiding dark and isolated areas, carrying a cell phone, and being aware of your surroundings.