#walking

#walking

Living in a place where it's cold and dark for several months at a time can take a toll on even the toughest person. During Alaska winters, I'd go to work in the dark and come home in the dark. Summers bring almost 24 hours of daylight, but that doesn't necessarily mean sunshine, as Alaskan summers can also be quite rainy. The light made sleep extremely difficult, too.

Flanked by the Welsh border and sprinkled with quaint villages and ancient forts, Shropshire's hills are a wonderful place for a serendipitous stroll. So the story goes, the Victorians referred to this quiet corner of England as "Little Switzerland." While that's being a tad generous to its blustery ridges-there are no snowcapped mountains here-Shropshire is an underrated delight. And it's not just spectacular walking you'll find here either.

Every weekday afternoon, Harvard neurologist Jasmeer Chhatwal gets up from his desk, heads out of the office, and walks about three-quarters of a mile to get a cup of coffee from a neighborhood cafe. There's a perfectly good coffee maker in the office, but the afternoon ritual isn't (just) about caffeine. The 20-minute stroll is helping to stave off symptoms of brain aging like memory loss, according to Chhatwal's research.

Research shows that walking just 30 minutes a day can boost your cardiovascular fitness, strengthen bones, reduce excess body fat, and increase muscle endurance and strength. It's also a preventive measure against health conditions like heart disease, type 2 diabetes, and some cancers, as well as supporting mental health and banishing seasonal blues. And during the cooler months, you can walk further without overheating.

Daily walking - even at a leisurely pace - significantly lowers the risk of chronic back pain. The study confirms that volume of walking is more important than intensity. Credit: Shutterstock A major study has investigated the relationship between walking and the risk of developing chronic lower back problems. The findings could save the healthcare system significant amounts of money while also alleviating many people's back pain - if we just follow the simple advice provided.

The typical new car today costs almost $49,000 - near a record high. Used cars are also flirting with all-time highs. That's because car prices skyrocketed during the pandemic and have hardly fallen since, making car ownership one of the biggest financial burdens Americans face.