There is so much research on the personal benefits of walking that it deserves to be shared. Sign-up today for the first-ever Walk for Talk benefiting the National Spasmodic Dysphonia Association and do something really important and helpful for both yourself and for the NSDA Community.
Walking boosts creativity | For those of use stuck working from home right now, your creativity may have taken a hit. But getting outside and taking a walk can seriously boost creativity. A study by Stanford University found that walking can increase your creativity by up to 60%. Doctors don’t really know why, but it may be that creativity is stimulated by walking because the activity requires the simultaneous use of multiple parts of the brain. You got writer’s block; get out and walk.
Walking reduces anxiety | Life can be really hard and for some, it can be difficult to manage different levels of anxiety and stress. Anxiety and stress release excess hormones that wreak havoc on your physical and mental well-being. Walking and other exercise releases feel-good endorphins that help to balance out the adrenaline and cortisol in a nerve-wracked system
Walking improves self-confidence| Walking and other exercise can help you to feel mentally and physically prepared for the challenges you might face. Knowing that you can take on the goals that you set for yourself helps you to feel confident in any situation.
Walking prevents negative thoughts | Rumination, or thinking negative thoughts, shows up in the brain region called the subgenual prefrontal cortex, a part of the brain that controls negative emotions. Walking and other exercise promotes all kinds of changes in the brain, including neural growth, reduced inflammation, and new activity patterns that promote feelings of calm and well-being.
Walking strengthens your bones | Weight-bearing activities like walking and running can strengthen bones by stimulating extra deposits of calcium and nudge bone-forming cells into action. It’s that pushing on the bone during walking that cause stress to bones resulting in stronger, denser bone.
Walking can boost your immune system | Walking and other exercise can increase neutrophils, monocytes, natural killer cells, plasma interleukin-6 concentration, and PHA-induced lymphocytes. These are the type of cells circulating through your blood that fight off infection, resulting in better immunity.
Walking for a cause is rewarding | Probably the most important benefit of your participation in the Walk for Talk is that you are raising awareness about the challenges of living with a voice condition and the money raised will fund research to find new treatments and maybe get closer to a cure for spasmodic dysphonia and related voice conditions. Just this act of knowing that you are making a difference is very emotionally rewarding because you get to see the results of your hard work.
Because of your support | As of today, October 14, 2020, 178 people have signed up to be part of Walk for Talk and over $43,500 has been raised. It is a tremendous outpouring of support. You can still order Goodie Bags and show off some of that sweet swag. Be sure to post your photos and use the hashtag #walkfortalk. And encourage your friends and family to sign-up! It is free to register to walk and what a great way to ask them to support you.
Thank you for all of your efforts to make this first-time event wonderful. Keep walking friends!