How a Ten-Minute Walk Outside Can Improve Your Overall Well-being

OutGrown Blog How a Ten-Minute Walk Outside Can Improve Your Overall Well-being
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Sara Wesche

Feb 3, 2021

Hike it Baby's Winter Walk with Wox encourages individuals and families to head outside for a ten-minute walk every day in the month of February. The Winter Walk Challenge aims to get people outside during the part of the year where most of us could use extra outdoor time. February brings cold temperatures, more cloudy days, and snow and ice for many parts of the country, making it one of the toughest months to get outside.

However, a ten-minute walk outside helps you gain both the mental and physical benefits of activity outdoors. Winter brings colder temperatures and sometimes extreme weather conditions. It brings more rain, wind, maybe sleet, ice, and/or snow, and it gets dark earlier. Many animals hibernate during the winter. Humans have a tendency to bundle up and hunker down as well. We may start to feel cooped up or notice that we have less energy and motivation in the winter months. When kids are kept inside and expected to sit still for too long, negative behaviors may appear, voices get louder, and everyone feels crankier.

Through the holiday season it can be hard to maintain a routine of going outside or being active, especially with all the demands of family, entertaining, and celebrations to attend. A short, easy ten minute walk outside can help everyone reset and find their inner calm again. It’s also a great way to test and get used to winter gear like heavier coats, hats, gloves, and boots that might be challenging for younger children. How do you wear your baby and a winter coat? Is your jacket water resistant or waterproof? How much does that matter where you live? Does your baby need a fleece layer under their rain suit? Are those new boots from Grandma really waterproof and ready for puddle jumping?

In the winter, we often have many questions and concerns about our outerwear, but it can be daunting to go out and try it if it means packing the car, traveling to a favorite spot, and spending a significant amount of time outside. Here’s where the Winter Walk With Wox Challenge can save the day. We’re encouraging you to take a ten minute walk outside every day for the month of February with your family. It doesn’t have to be far, it can just be out your back door into the yard or around your block. It can be a quick trip to the park on the way home from school. Or it can be walking to the library or grocery store nearby. Whatever it is, it should be short, sweet, and easy, but it should be outside.

Join us and find a national community of like-minded families to help encourage you along the way. Share your triumphs and your challenges. Ask questions. Build a habit together! Most of all, have fun! Two men walking with a stroller and a dog

Let's Start with A Walk

Walking alone is good for your health. According to the CDC, physical activity accumulated in segments of at least ten minutes can improve a variety of health-related outcomes.

Healthier Hearts

Walking, as they say, "gets the blood flowing". It helps reduce blood pressure, lower cholesterol, and lower blood sugar which can help fight heart disease and type 2 diabetes.

Improves Brain Function

A walk can help refresh your mind. Cognitive benefits including improved attention, concentration, and problem-solving.

Better Sleep

According to the Sleep Foundation, researchers have found that people who exercised regularly, including walking, fell asleep more quickly, slept longer, and had better quality sleep than those who did vigorous exercise or lifted weights.

Reduces Anxiety and Depression

According to the Anxiety and Depression Association of America, a simple 10-minute walk may be as effective as a 45-minute workout in terms of reducing anxiety and depression.

Take Your Walk Outside

There is plenty of research on the health benefits of spending time outdoors. Time outside is an immediate mood booster and has proven to be beneficial to mental health. Researchers from the University of Essex found that spending as little as five minutes doing “green exercise,” or activity in nature, was enough to boost study participants’ mood and self-esteem. Among office workers, even a view of nature out a window is associated with lower stress and higher job satisfaction. The outdoors activates all of our senses. When we walk outside the scenery changes as we move so we are more present in our environment. This practice of mindfulness has lasting effects on our overall mental well-being.

How to Make Your Outdoor Walk a Habit

Mix up your ten-minute family walks with these ideas, including playing a follow the leader game or looking for signs of nature. Mind, Body, Green offers a few simple ways to squeeze the walk into your day:

1. Go for a walk first thing in the morning (you won't believe how well this works to wake you up)!

2. Make your meetings walking meetings (instead of sitting meetings).

3. Go for a lunchtime walk.

4. Take public transportation or drive a few blocks away from your final destination and walk the last part instead.

5. Get in an after-dinner walk (this can feel great for digestion).

Here's the best part, friends. That daily walk will become a healthy habit. And if you can make it happen in February, you know you can make it happen any time of year. Who's up for a walking streak?

ABOUT OUTGROWN

OutGrown is a 501(c)(3) nonproﬁt that works to create a world where everyone can enjoy the physical and mental beneﬁts of spending time outside. We are focused on creating opportunities and removing barriers to access so families with babies and young children can take their ﬁrst steps outside. We believe all families have the right to connect with nature, beneﬁt from spending time outdoors and be inspired to a lifelong love of nature. Since its grassroots inception in 2013, OutGrown is a growing community of 280,000 families and over 300 volunteer Branch Ambassadors. More information on all of our programs can be found at WeAreOutGrown.org

EDITORS NOTE:

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