積攢步數(shù)，健康“走”起！

Rumi， the 13thcentury mystic poet， was fond of saying， “Beauty surrounds us， but usually we need to be walking in a garden to know it.”

I get it. So many times I whiz back and forth in my car， covering the same areas time and time again. Its not until I get out there on my feet and slow down with a walk that Im able to notice and take in the beautiful and tiny details of my surroundings.

I dont know about you， but lately， walking is on my mind a lot more than its ever been. Why？ Well， for one thing， ever since I purchased a FitBit （in case youve been living under a rock and dont know what that is， its a device worn around your wrist that measures your steps）， Im a lot more mindful of getting my steps to 10，000 a day （inspired by the Surgeon Generals recommendation to accumulate 30 minutes of activity most days of the week）.

I suddenly dont mind getting up off the couch to fetch something in another room， or getting up in the middle of the night to go to the bathroom， or parking my car in a faraway spot in a parking lot. It all yields more STEPS！

And for another， all this dire news about how dangerous sitting is to your health （when the majority of my day is spent sitting in front of my computer， writing） scares me. “Its the new smoking！” headlines scream. And Health pioneer Dr. Andrew Weil says that putting in 45 brisk minutes a day is “quite simply the best practice I can imagine for a lifetime of health.”

Among walkings benefits， he lists：

Longer life： A study of some 8，000 men published in the New England Journal of Medicine found that over 12 years， walking two miles a day dropped the risk of death by nearly 50 percent. Walking seems to be particularly protective against cancer. The walkers cut their risk of death from cancer during the study period by about 65 percent.

Lower weight： Several studies have shown that walking from 8，000 to 10，000 steps a day—roughly four to five miles—is highly effective as a means of weight loss.

A better brain： The National Council on Aging found that walking 45 minutes a day， at a rather brisk 16-minute mile pace， significantly boosted cognitive performance in people over age 60. Another study found that walking 40 minutes three times weekly slowed the normal， age-related shrinkage of the hippocampus. This part of the brain consolidates short-term memory and is one of the first regions to be damaged in those who have Alzheimers disease.

Dr. Weil suggests that even though walking is a gentle exercise， you need to put some effort into it to get the real benefit. “You should be able to cover about three miles in 45 minutes，” he says. “You should breathe more quickly and notice a slightly elevated heart rate， but still be able to carry on a conversation.”

So get up， and get walking！

13世紀(jì)神秘派詩人魯米喜歡說這么一句話：“美麗存在于我們身邊，可是我們總要在公園里漫步時(shí)才會(huì)發(fā)現(xiàn)?！?/p>

對(duì)此我深有同感。多少次了，我開著車，在同一片區(qū)域反復(fù)穿梭來回。直到我推開車門，踏上這片土地，放慢腳步閑逛，我才有機(jī)會(huì)發(fā)現(xiàn)和體會(huì)圍繞在我身邊的美麗和微小細(xì)節(jié)。

我不知道你有何體會(huì)，不過最近，散步比以往任何一個(gè)時(shí)期更常出現(xiàn)在我的腦海中。為什么呢？噢，第一，自從我買了一個(gè)計(jì)步器（以防你與世隔絕，不知道那是什么東西。計(jì)步器是一種可以戴在手腕上幫助你計(jì)算步數(shù)的裝置），我就一心想達(dá)到每天步行一萬步的目標(biāo)（我被衛(wèi)生局局長所啟發(fā)，他建議每周大部分的日子都應(yīng)該有累計(jì)30分鐘的運(yùn)動(dòng)量）。

突然間，我不再介意離開沙發(fā)去另一個(gè)房間拿東西，或者半夜起來去洗手間，抑或是把車停在停車場里比較遠(yuǎn)的車位。因?yàn)檫@都能帶來更多步數(shù)！

其次，所有這些久坐會(huì)給身體帶來危害的可怕信息讓我感到害怕（我一天大部分時(shí)間都是坐在電腦前面工作，撰寫文章）。新聞?lì)^條大呼：“這是一種新型吸煙方式！”而健康先鋒安德魯·威爾博士說，每天45分鐘的步行時(shí)間“可以說是我能想象到的保持一生健康最有效的方式”。

關(guān)于步行的益處，他提出以下幾點(diǎn)：

延年益壽：一篇涉及8，000個(gè)被調(diào)查者的研究在《新英格蘭醫(yī)學(xué)雜志》上發(fā)表。文章提出，12年來，每天步行2英里，被調(diào)查者的死亡率幾乎下降了50%。步行似乎對(duì)預(yù)防癌癥特別有效。研究期間，步行者的癌癥致死率下降了65%。

減輕體重：多項(xiàng)研究表明，每天步行8，000-10，000步——相當(dāng)于4-5英里——是一種非常有效的減重方式。

腦袋更靈活：美國老年人委員會(huì)發(fā)現(xiàn)，每天以每英里16分鐘的速度步行45分鐘，可以顯著地提高60歲以上人群的認(rèn)知能力。另一項(xiàng)研究發(fā)現(xiàn)，每周步行三次、每次40分鐘，可以減慢大腦海馬體正常的、因年齡增長而導(dǎo)致的收縮。這部分大腦組織是鞏固短期記憶的地方，也是阿爾茲海默癥患者大腦中最早受到損壞的組織之一。

威爾博士指出，盡管步行是一項(xiàng)溫和的運(yùn)動(dòng)，人們?nèi)匀恍枰冻雠Ψ娇烧嬲芤??！澳惚仨氃?5分鐘之內(nèi)走完約三英里路，”他說。“你的呼吸會(huì)加快，心跳也會(huì)輕微加速，但不會(huì)影響說話聊天?！?/p>

那么，站起身，“走”起吧！