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Physiological Benefits of Walking and Jogging

Walking and jogging are great place to begin before moving onto more intense
activities. In addition to that, walking and jogging is beneficial to ones respiratory system
and vascular system. There are many physiological benefits of walking and jogging, some of
them include, but are not limited to, increasing the efficiency of the respiratory and vascular
system by stretching your lung and heart muscles and increasing blood circulation,
decreasing the likelihood of developing respiratory illnesses and reducing the amount of LDL
cholesterol in your blood stream.
Walking or jogging is very good for increasing the efficiency of respiratory system
and vascular system. When walking or jogging, you breathe in oxygen at a faster rate than
when sitting idly. While doing so you stretch your lung and heart muscles, which will
improve your respiratory system as well as help your heart pump blood throughout your body.
When you heart performance increases, it will provide more blood to all of the body parts.
This increase in blood circulation helps you breathe more easily and deeply. Walking is also a
form of aerobic exercise that increases your heart rate which makes your heart stronger. It can
strengthen the muscle tissue of the heart, allowing it to perform more work with less effort,
even at rest. Because the heart doesnt have to beat as hard when the muscle tissue
strengthens, the pressure of the blood vessels will decrease. This can prevent all kinds of
diseases from forming in the blood vessels. Walking and jogging also boosts the level of
good HDL cholesterol inside the body; this helps reduce the bad LDL cholesterol that exists
in the bloodstream. Lowering the level of LDL cholesterol can reduce the risk of getting
cholesterol plaque in your blood vessels that cause the variety of heart diseases. Lower your
blood pressure: A study in the Journal of Hypertension says a brisk 10-minute walk four
times a day can lower your blood pressure for 11 hours. This is one of the results of a study
on how walking can reduce the possibilities of getting heart related diseases.
Reducing the bad LDL cholesterol and lowering blood pressure all benefit the heart
as well. Another research that shows how walking can benefit the heart greatly states that,
brisk walking for 30-60 minutes, five times a week can lower your risk of heart disease by
about 40%. A new research article published in a journal called Respirology states that
those suffering from chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) can reduce their risk of
hospitalization following severe attacks by walking a mere three to six kilometers each day
and maintaining that regimen. The term refers to breathing difficulty due to long-term lung
damage from smoking or other health issues such as exposure to dust, chemicals, or air
pollution. COPD is also known as the chronic obstructive lung disease, is a type of
obstructive lung disease characterized by chronically poor airflow. It typically worsens over
time. The main symptoms include shortness of breath, cough, and sputum production and it
typically gets worse over time. Researchers found out that those who maintain a stable
exercise regime, such as walking for three to six kilometers a day, had much lower risk of
hospitalization of serious breathing issues.
You can improve your respiratory and vascular system by simply speed walking or
jogging. It is important that when you are walking, you walk at a faster rate than you do while
casually walking because how fastor how slowlyyou normally walk may predict how
long youll live. Researchers clocked the walking speed of more than 34,000 people, age 65
years and older. The subjects who averaged a speed of 2.25 mph or faster lived longer than
those who walked more slowly. Taking the initiative to walk or jog will prove to beneficial
in your day to day life, reduce your chances of developing fatal illness and prolong your life
span, therefore it is definitely something that everyone should consider doing.

Works Cited
"How You Can Improve Your Vascular Health." How to Improve Vascular Health. Allina
Health, 1 Mar. 2009. Web. 12 Oct. 2014.
<http://www.allinahealth.org/ahs/vascular.nsf/page/ImproveVascularHealth>.
Moreno, Mike. "8 Ways to Improve Your Respiratory System Health." Dr Mike Diet. N.p.,
25 Sept. 2013. Web. 12 Oct. 2014. <http://www.drmikediet.com/health/8-ways-to-
improve-your-respiratory-system-health-healthy-weight-walking-speed-smokers-
lungs/>.
"Physical Benefits of Walking." Extra. Extra, 27 June 2011. Web. 12 Oct. 2014.
<http://www.extratv.com/2011/06/28/physical-benefits-of-walking/>.
Sherwood, Chris. "Why Is Walking Important to the Cardiovascular System?"
LIVESTRONG.COM. LIVESTRONG.COM, 14 Apr. 2011. Web. 12 Oct. 2014.
<http://www.livestrong.com/article/420813-why-is-walking-important-to-the-
cardiovascular-system/>.
"Why We All Need More Walking In Our Lives." The Huffington Post. The Huffington Post,
20 Feb. 2014. Web. 12 Oct. 2014.
<http://www.huffingtonpost.ca/2014/02/20/walking-benefits-_n_4823441.html>.

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