Thursday, August 29, 2024

Thursday Thoughts ~ walking, walking, walking

What I've been thinking about includes technology (see my word for Wednesday HERE), but also walking.  My iPhone tells me that I'm walking about twice as many steps this year as I did last year.  Yesterday, I came across an article about "the right number of steps to walk" (found HERE).  Yeah, right.  I think that number varies with age and health and a lot of other variables.

My neighbor in the apartment next to mine called me one day to talk about walking and to saunter up and down our hall with me one evening.  She's starting off slowly, which I think is the right way to do it.  We all have our own aches and pains ... and our limits.

Oh, are you waiting for me to give you the "right number" promised above?  Here's one part of that article:  "Results showed that walking 3,867 steps daily was enough to begin reducing the risk of dying from any cause — and that just 2,337 steps per day could help reduce the risk of dying from heart disease.  The benefits were similar for men and women as well..."

The writer went on to say "the study found that essentially the more you walk, the better – every extra 1,000 steps was associated with a 15% decreased risk of dying from any cause, and a mere extra 500 daily steps was associated with a 7% decrease in dying from heart disease."  I have gradually increased my steps per day since last year.  I think I am doing it right for me, an 84-year-old woman.

No comments: