Walking is an evidence-based strategy to add years to one's life. Walking has shown to improve the
length of telomeres and hence improve the lifespan of telomeres which is one of the key markers of
ageing.
It has been seen that walking can reduce this biomarker and hence can increase longevity. People
who have included walking in their daily regime and made it a habit, have shown to have longer
telomeres than the ones who have not. The added advantage of this habit includes reduced risk of
age-related disorders like dementia, stroke and heart disease. Walking not only helps fighting the
ageing but provides strength to bones and muscles and help in weight control.
Other than the physical benefits, walking also helps to reduce stress which is an important
parameter related to mental health. Improving both mental as well as physical health can improve
the overall health of a person. A sound health thus equivalently contributes to reducing the ageing
process and promote longevity. This is a simple exercise that even elders can include in their daily
regime and benefit from.
Research says that people over the age of 85 years can boost their lives by walking as little as 10
minutes a day. One question that may arise here is: What should be the pace of walking? There has
been research in this area and it is shown that the pace really depends on the current status of an
individual i.e., if the person does not walk at all, he/she can begin it and increase the pace steadily,
and the person who walks/strolls, can walk at a faster pace to have the benefits.
The gist of this is that no matter what your current walking state is, you can always start at a slower
pace and increase the pace eventually, to make it a power walk. This power walk can help power-up
the telomeres and add years to life.