Take a Walk

Here are three links for the PD crowd.  All report on the benefits of taking a walk.

1.  The Michael J. Fox Foundation blog reports that people who take nature walks end up improving their mood, as evidenced by before-and-after questionnaires and brain scans.

Quote:

Questionnaires revealed that the participants who took a nature walk changed their thinking pattern. Brain scans matched those improved moods.

2.  Meanwhile, about a year ago the Los Angeles Times ran a story with this lead sentence:

In yet another endorsement for getting on your feet and walking, researchers said Wednesday that people with mild to moderate Parkinson’s disease may improve their motor function, mood, fatigue levels and more by taking regular aerobic walks.

The “more” in the above sentence includes “aspects of executive function and quality of life.”  Not a bad outcome for just a little strolling.

3.  Finally, today’s Fox Foundation Facebook page poses this discussion question:  Where is your favorite place to take a walk? Studies suggest that spending time in nature may have a positive impact on how we think.

Here’s the comment I wrote:  I love to walk barefoot on an ocean beach for miles and miles. On the one hand you have the lapping sound of the waves and usually a wide vista to gaze off into. And on the other hand you have your feet feeling the water and the sand granules. If I walk barefoot in the sand every day, the calluses on my feet get ground off and my feet become smooth and beautiful. The whole experience is meditative, actually.