What are the Benefits of Walking After Dinner?

Dinner is more than the last supper you consume in a day. While it can be the reason you put on weight, it also helps you complete your diet cycle for the day. Be it a heavy gobble or a light munch, what matters is what you do after having your dinner. Acting like a couch potato and lying on the sofa watching the television may not be the healthiest of options. Instead, choose to go for a brisk midnight walk to burn off those calories. However, the choice is yours. It has been proven by many experts that a 15 to 20-minute walk after having your dinner benefits your body. It also is an effective way to digest your food.

Apart from causing you to put on weight, going to bed straight after dinner can cause other health problems. It could result in heartburn, which is caused due to an excess amount of stomach acid. This will lead to a burning sensation that works its way from the stomach to the chest and on occasions, to your throat. A burning sensation is usually accompanied by a few burps. When you fall prey to heartburn, you can be assured of NOT getting a good night’s rest.

Also, going to bed straight after a meal could lead to a stroke. A number of studies have suggested that people who give their body time to digest food between eating and sleeping, had a very low chance of getting a stroke. Acid reflux could be the reason for sleep apnea, which is one of the reasons for strokes. If food is not digested properly, it has an adverse effect on your body, including affecting your blood pressure, cholesterol and blood-sugar levels. This in turn could increase a person’s chance of getting a stroke.

Experts believe that we should all take time out after dinner to engage in a light walk around the neighborhood block. Here are some of the pertinent reasons why you need it:

Digestion is all about breaking down the solid food you consume. Considering most dinners do not include healthy food options like soups, salads, breads or even meat, a good walk will help you digest a heavy meal. Digestion happens immediately once you have consumed your entire meal coupled with a glass of water after at least half an hour. It is the acidic enzymes and the bodily juices that start segregating waste from nutrients, while the process can be slow if you are lying on your couch or sitting idle. A short but effective power walk can just speed up the digestion. From helping you avoid problems like indigestion and acidity, walking immediately after dinner brings some friction in your bowels, making them work till the last food particle is successfully broken down. After all, digested food is the sign of a strong gut and a little bit of walking after dinner is the secret to it.

Improving your metabolism can be a task, as it is not the only reason behind you accumulating fat but also one of the main reasons why people fall prey to health-related diseases and resort to strict diets. Alongside burning calories, fats and helping you clean your bowels, physical activity is one of the good signs of a great metabolism. Hence, a light workout after meals advances and speeds up the churning and assimilation of food stored inside your body.

It may seem a bit abrupt but were you aware that a midnight walk post dinner can actually accelerate the speed at which your body burns fat? Keeping in mind it speeds up metabolism and increases levels of digestion, the body cells and blood cells also get into work mode burning the excess fat surrounding your waistline and thighs. In fact, you may have just burned some calories while walking itself which makes the body go into active mode and gets you ready to hit the gymnasium in the morning to complete the drill you left in the night.

Sleep deprived or stressed individuals need to adapt to this schedule as walking post a heavy dinner tires your muscles, giving you a good night sleep. Sleeping immediately post dinner can cause indigestion, fatigue, stress, chest burns and constipation. Hence, to digest food, you will be required to do a light workout in order to get good sleep at night. Did you know walking post dinner helps you relieve stress? A stress -free sleep is a sign of good blood circulation, improved digestion, advanced metabolism and healthy lifestyle.

Sugar levels tend to get high while eating your meal as the food stuff in your body gets into the breakdown stage where the body acquires the needed nutrients and sugar. However a little bit of workout in this case like walking is beneficial as it uses the glucose and sugar in your body to derive energy burning out all the calories and not allowing excess sugar to infuse in the blood levels. In this way it not only balances out sugar levels but it also ensures diabetic patients to be more active and is recommended by many doctors.

Walking is a great form of cardio and when done post dinner, it hastens metabolism and also balances out the blood sugar levels. This is turn helps build up your immune system. From strengthening your bone density level, harmonizing cholesterol levels to giving your muscles a good shape, a regular practice of midnight walking after dinner just increases your body resistance, which in turn ensures your body is always protected from diseases, cough, cold or any kind of chronic disorder.

Why expose yourself to ailments when a light walk after dinner could be the solution to health-related problems? If it helps, take a walk with other members of your family, or friends.