Does Walking Make You Smart? Yes, and In More Ways Than You Think

So does walking everyday really help make you smarter? Well in some ways it can. Doing exercise everyday can help with concentration, mood, self esteem, and physical heath. Exercise, such as walking, is a great way to get your body in the shape that it should be because it is fast and easy and very in expensive. Most of the time people can't afford to do a sport that requires equipment because of the cost or they don't join gyms because of the membership fee. Some sports also require some skill, which can make people depressed if they are unable to fulfill the required skills for the sport. Walking is a great alternative because it's practically free, and there is no skill needed. A great way to get into walking is to use a pedometer while exercising. This will count your total steps throughout the day. "They provide ongoing feedback on your walking progress and most professionals suggest aiming for 10,000 steps per day. This translates into about 5 miles of walking." This helps you get motivated and to think about making time to exercise. After a while you will think about how to get over the required steps and doing things purposely to get more steps in, like parking farther away from the grocery store, or taking the stairs instead of an elevator. In the end walking is a win-win situation because it is easy to do and it's something you can do everyday with out a hassle of going to the gym.
I run cross country and track right now. I understand how stress-free I feel during the sports seasons because I get to take a little time for myself and not think about anything but running. I see how my grades improve a little during the season because I have a little more motivation to get things done. I have seen in high school how much I miss having recess during school. Just having a half hour to hang with friends and be able to run around a play was a great stress reliever. It was a time where you were practically forced to take a break from school and not worry about it for a little bit. Now we just spend our days sitting in classrooms, under florescent lighting, and maybe seeing the light of day before and after school walking to and from your car to go to school or home. It's too bad that we lose the privilege to be able to go outside during the day especially during some of the most stressful times in our lives.

My mom is on weight watchers, and she pretty much lost all her weight by wearing a perdometer. She mentally thought about what she needed to do throughout the day to get over the 10,000 step goal. She lost a ton of weight and her self esteem went way up. She is a happier person now and she enjoys excersising throughout the week.