'Walk this May' plea to boost health in lockdown
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LIVING Streets Scotland, part of the UK charity for everyday walking, is urging the public to ‘Try20’ during National Walking Month this May.
The campaign encourages people to walk for 20 minutes every day throughout May to maintain their physical and mental health and wellbeing during lockdown.
Health experts recommend a brisk daily walk as an easy way to improve your health with a 20-minute walk being shown to reduce the risk of a number of preventable health conditions, including certain cancers, depression, heart disease and Type 2 diabetes.
The charity has issued #Try20 tips for how to walk safely during Covid-19 lockdown and how to keep your daily exercise interesting, with activities for families, people working from home and those who are restricted to indoor exercise.
The tips are accompanied by a podcast, which has well-known personalities talking about the benefits of walking, including Active Nation Commissioner for Scotland Lee Craigie, Olympic champion Chris Boardman MBE, and Professor Shane O’Mara, author of In Praise of Walking.
Stuart Hay, Director, Living Streets Scotland, said: “Many of us are appreciating being able to get out for a walk at the moment.
"It remains incredibly important to keep active, both for our own wellbeing and to avoid storing up massive health problems for ourselves and the NHS in the future.
“Walking is one of the most accessible ways to stay active. Just 20 minutes can help improve our wellbeing and connect us with what’s around us.”
Mr Craigie, Active Nation Commissioner for Scotland, said: "If I don’t move my body in a day, if I don’t walk or cycle or run in one day, then I feel like everything is just squashed in.
"I can’t think straight. I don’t have that same clarity of thought. I don’t have that lovely relaxed feeling that you get after you’ve exercised when your endorphins are flowing and can just relax a bit. Once I move, I feel happier and able to converse again.”
Professor Shane O’Mara added: “Regular walking has great benefits for our physical health, but it also improves mood, memory and problem-solving, and can help with depression and anxiety.
“We need to integrate walking into every aspect of our everyday lives and that’s why it’s so important to improve our pavements and pathways so that everyone can enjoy its benefits.”
Cities worldwide have started to reallocate road space to people walking and cycling so they can do so at a safe distance from others. The Scottish Government recently announced £10 million of funding will be made available to councils to put in place temporary infrastructure to make it safer to walk, wheel or cycle for essential journeys or for exercise.
Living Streets has created an online form for people to complete, asking their local councils to call for action to reorganise our streets and public spaces to facilitate safe social distancing.
To download the #Try20 tips sheet, visit www.livingstreets.org.uk/nwm
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