The health benefits of a five-minute evening walk

There is plenty of evidence to suggest that going for a walk in the evening can aid digestion, reduce cancer risk, and more. Photo / Getty Images

From cutting the risk of bowel cancer to lowering your chances of diabetes, a short stroll late in the day can have a positive impact.

An evening stroll is not something that is at the forefront of our minds.

In Italy, la passeggiata (a leisurely walk with no specified destination) is woven into daily routine. But dark, cold and wet weather is enough to stop people elsewhere contemplating a needless trip outside.

However, the evidence is stacking up in support of incorporating a walk, the most popular form of physical activity, into our evenings.

Research published this week suggests that being active at 6pm can lower our risk of bowel cancer. It adds to piles of studies which show that walking, especially after eating, can improve digestion, regulate blood sugar, lower blood pressure, and aid weight loss.

Here, the experts explain why you should consider nipping out tonight, with even five minutes enough to benefit our health.

Cuts bowel cancer risk

Researchers from Regensburg University in Germany, who looked at data from more than 86,000 people in the UK, found that activity, such as walking, at around 8am and 6pm was linked to a 10% lower risk of bowel cancer.

The researchers didn’t investigate the reasons behind their finding but it is likely because evening movement triggers a reduction in chronic inflammation, explains Colin Greaves, a professor of health behaviour change at the University of Birmingham.

Regular walking leads to a reduction in chronic inflammation. Photo / 123rf

Physical activity is relaxing, so may reduce stress-related inflammation. It is also good for cardiovascular metabolism, especially by reducing blood pressure, which in turn reduces stress and inflammation throughout our organs, he notes. Exercise also helps you sleep better, which is another factor that reduces chronic stress and inflammation, he says.

An evening walk, and exercise in general, also helps with weight management, mobilises anti-tumour cells in our immune system and enhances the natural process of cell death, so that it’s “more likely that cells potentially becoming cancerous are cleared out before they have the chance to become nasty”, explains Dr James King, a senior lecturer in exercise physiology at Loughborough University. Each of these factors could play a role in reducing the risk of bowel cancer, he explains.

“An old wives tale, literally, as my grandma used to recommend going for a walk after dinner as it will ‘help your digestion’,” says Greaves. “Maybe there is something in that as well?”

Lowers type 2 diabetes risk

Diabetes rates are at an all-time high in the UK, with an estimated five million people living with type 2 diabetes, which raises the risk of strokes, heart attacks and heart failure.

However, a paper from UCL researchers in 2016 found that walking briskly for an hour a day squashes the risk of developing the condition by 40%.

While that study didn’t investigate the best time for a walk, scheduling one for after dinner “could be a great way to reduce the spike in blood sugar” that occurs after eating a meal – a result of the body breaking down carbohydrates into sugar, which then enters the blood, Greaves notes. Blood sugar levels spike around 15 to 30 minutes after eating but how high they go and the rate at which they decline varies between people.

“Some scientists believe that spikes after eating are particularly important influences on the development of type 2 diabetes,” as high blood sugar damages insulin-producing cells in the pancreas, he explains.

Regular physical activity, such as an evening walk, can also help with keeping fat mass down, reducing inflammation and the build-up of fat in the muscle, liver and pancreas which can prevent the body from handling sugar and fat properly, King notes.

Slashes dementia risk

No drug on the planet can halve your risk of dementia but studies suggest that walking could do the trick.

Researchers at the University of Sydney, who analysed the health and activity patterns of around 80,000 people, found that those who walked 3800 steps per day (around 3.2km) had a 25% lower risk of developing dementia compared to those who didn’t walk much at all, while those who hit 9800 steps per day (8km) had a 51% lower chance of developing the memory-robbing disease.

While the study was observational (so doesn’t prove that walking itself was to credit for the dramatic fall in dementia risk), separate research may offer an explanation.

“Studies using MRI scans have shown that walking in older adults can prevent brain shrinkage and even possibly increase the size of the left and right hippocampus (areas of the brain involved in memory),” says David Stensel, a professor of exercise metabolism at Loughborough University.

Studies suggest walking could help stave off dementia. Photo / 123rf

These changes correlate with reduced cognitive decline in older adults and a lower risk of developing dementia, he says. However, to optimise risk reduction for dementia, walking and other forms of exercise need to be accompanied by other healthy behaviours, such as a balanced diet, not smoking and limiting alcohol consumption, Stensel adds.

Improves heart health

If you’re struggling to find the motivation to stretch your legs in the evening, the fact that you don’t need to hit 10,000 steps to improve your heart health may be enough to get you going.

One analysis, based on data from more than 200,000 people over seven years, found that while the more you walk the better, hitting just 2337 steps per day reduced the risk of dying from cardiovascular disease. For every additional 500 steps – equal to around a five minute walk – the risk dropped by 7%.

“An evening walk can lower blood pressure the next day and lower blood fat (triglyceride) responses to meals the next day,” Stensel explains. “If repeated regularly (such as daily or every other day) over months and years this may lower the risk of stroke and coronary heart disease.”

Scientists have also noted that the benefits for the heart may be because walking offsets sitting time, as a sedentary lifestyle contributes to cardiovascular disease.

Adds a year to your life

A longer and healthier life could be just a short walk away.

Findings from researchers at the University of Leicester, who examined the activity levels of around 70,000 people, suggests that inactive over-60s who add a 10-minute brisk walk to their day can extend their life expectancy – by around 11 months for women and 17 months for men. The life-prolonging benefits were even better if the walk lasted 30 minutes.

“If you look after your heart, take action to minimise stress and sleep well, you will tend to live longer – and a great way to do that is walking,” says Greaves.

Therefore, an evening walk is a sensible habit we should be adopting.

Don’t be put off if you don’t want to venture out in the evening – opt for another time of day, King recommends. “Being regularly active is important no matter when you do it,” he says.

“When so many people in the population are not active at all, the key point is that they are active at least at some point – whenever works best for them.”