Listening to the radio a while ago a well-known DJ was talking about ages. She asked if we knew our Earth age, Show Biz age & Behavioural age. She said your Earth age is your real age, your Show Biz age is the age you want everyone to think you are (especially when us ladies can no longer say we are 21). Your behavioural age depends on what you enjoy doing, for example do you enjoy spending the afternoon looking around a garden centre followed by a cup of tea & slice of cake in their café, or do you prefer traipsing around the shops all day looking for the highest heels & tightest dress for the perfect Friday night outfit. Can you cope staying out till 2 am or are you back home tucked up in bed by 11pm? Our excitedly sitting on a 1950’s bus going to visit a national trust home in Devon, then realizing the average age on the Bus was about 70 was quite a revelation, especially as this made our behavioural age about 30 years above our real age!
Through the conversation the DJ mentioned she was shocked to find her behavioural age had changed when she realised she enjoyed going for a walk, not to get somewhere, just going for a walk. Something she would never have dreamed of when she was younger. It’s true there comes a time in our lives when we think what shall we do, I know I’ll go for a walk, I’ll go for a little stroll around the park and we enjoy it! For some of us this then turns into an obsession with walking maybe even hiking. We chose holidays because we’ve read of a must do walk or two with amazing waterfalls nearby.
We tend to underestimate the value of walking. It’s not just about getting from A to B because we missed the bus or haven’t got a car. It’s actually good for us according to Macmillan Cancer Support who say : “Walking just one mile a day could save lives” They go on to say “Patients diagnosed with two of the most common cancers (breast and prostate) could reduce their risk of dying by walking just one mile a day, according to new calculations by Walking for Health, run by Macmillan Cancer Support and the Ramblers [1].
Walking one mile at a moderate pace (3mph), or for just 20 minutes a day, could reduce breast cancer patients’ risk of dying from the disease by 40% while those with prostate cancer could reduce their risk by almost a third (30%).”
One mile is not that far from your home. It may be the shops or even a garden centre so it doesn’t have to change your behavioural age. But it will help your health. Another great thing about walking is you get to explore and see places you’ll never see by car. That amazing waterfall you keep hearing about but think is not worth the effort or that feeling of achievement when you reach the top of that hill you’ve been looking at for years. Walking is great whatever age you are.
Psst…Dont forget your WellBeing Bra for walking in!!!
http://www.macmillan.org.uk/aboutus/news/latest_news/walkingjustonemileadaycouldsavelives.aspx
