Christine Manga is out to persuade all of us to start our day with a morning walk.

Listen to this article below or wherever you get your podcasts or visit our playlist.

That’s it, a morning walk! We are not all fond of exercise, let alone first thing in the morning. Thing is, it comes with a host of health benefits both mental and physical.

The World Health Organisation (WHO) recommend 150 – 300 minutes of moderate activity per week. This can be broken into short daily sessions. Aiming for 30 minutes daily for five days a week is a good starting point. WHO does state that if this is not possible, any physical activity is better than nothing. All activity counts.

Benefits of a morning walk

• It improves insulin sensitivity which is usually worst in the morning. The more insulin sensitive your body is, the better the glucose regulation will be during the day.
• Walking increases energy levels and wakefulness, clearing the mind and setting a positive tone for the day. It assists in increasing endorphins, the feel-good hormone, reducing stress, which is another benefit as stress causes an increase in blood glucose levels and blood pressure.
• Many people with diabetes also have hypertension. A morning blood pressure surge between 6 – 10am is common. This surge may be worse for people with hypertension, cardiovascular disease, diabetes, kidney disease, and sleep disorders. The circadian cycle, hormonal changes, sleep quality, and sympathetic activity are all causes of the surge. Walking in the morning can negate this surge. Walking increases the pulse and lowers blood pressure, improves blood circulation and can help to lower cholesterol levels.
• Bone density decreases as we age. Exercise slows and prevents this. Walking is a weight bearing exercise improving muscle strength, balance and coordination, resulting in a reduction in fall risk.
• Regular walking assists in weight management, maintaining and sometimes lowering weight.
• Regular walking has been strongly linked to an improvement in cognitive function, such as enhanced problem-solving skills, memory and attention from the increased blood flow to the brain. As little as 3 800 steps daily saw a 25% risk reduction of developing dementia. This is especially beneficial as Type 2 diabetes has been shown to be an independent risk factor for developing dementia and Alzheimer’s.

Wake up and overcome the challenges

Walking in the morning can be a real challenge. Firstly, getting up can be difficult, well at least for some of us. Pressing snooze on the alarm is one of the easiest things to do. Not being accountable makes the snooze button even more tempting to press. Often morning stiffness is present, it is normal after periods of rest. In the older population, it can be osteoarthritis, further discouraging walking.

So, there are challenges but there are also solutions.

1. Start off by putting your alarm out of reach, forcing you to get up to switch it off; you are then already up.
2. Find a walking partner or group. Being accountable drives you to attend, knowing someone is waiting for you. Walking with others helps to pass time quickly.
3. If you prefer to walk alone this can be your quiet time or time to listen to audio books or podcasts. Just be sure to be aware of your safety and surroundings.
4. To alleviate the morning stiffness, start with gentle stretching or a warm bath. Dress weather appropriately.

The cheap ticket to health

Walking is cheap and easily accessible, enabling most people regardless of their age, gender and fitness level to take part. It has a low risk of injury compared to running and is an easy activity to sustain. Some people may migrate from a walk to a jog to an eventual run. This is not necessary as the benefits of walking are as great as running but without the impact on knees, hips, and ankles.

Walking should be done briskly to increase the heart rate. Power walking is a special walking style that is much faster regular walking. This allows you to gain walking benefits in a shorter time.

The daily ten thousand steps was advised for health benefits, but this number is being reviewed and seems to be getting lower with one study citing 4 000 steps as sufficient to improve health and reduce premature death from all causes.

Step counters are becoming cheaper and are also becoming a standard feature on most cell phones, allowing you to record and improve your stats.

If it’s not possible to harness the power of a morning walk, doing it later in the day will still have benefits. The secret is to be regular.

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Sheradin Williamson, a diabetes specialist nurse, explains the science of how sleep and the metabolic system work together.

Listen to this article below or wherever you get your podcasts or visit our playlist.

Sleep is a basic human need, just like eating, drinking, and breathing. According to The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Centre about one in three adults in the USA aren’t getting enough rest or sleep every day.

Your life is organised around 24-hour rhythms of day- and night-time activities and when you don’t sleep properly that can lead to poor health.

When you don’t sleep, you lose the rest and digest phase and the fight and flightstate continues when you’re awake. Timing of sleep is controlled by your circadian clock, which causes lows and highs of wakefulness and sleepiness throughout the day.

Most adults feel tired between 2 – 4am and between 1 – 3pm. Your body’s internal clock is controlled by the suprachiasmatic nucleus – SCN. The SCN is sensitive to light and dark and triggers the release of cortisol and other hormones to wake you up. When darkness comes your SCN releases melatonin to help you sleep.

Causes of sleep disruptions

• Attending to crying children
• Alarms, strange noises
• Fear of attacks, feeling unsafe, living in dangerous area
• Shift work
• Sleep apnoea
• Lights from electronic devices
• In people living with diabetes, it might be the fear of having a hypo during the night or increased urination

The effects of lack of sleep

Sleep deficiency is linked to a number of chronic health problems.

• Impairs metabolism – Metabolism is a biochemical process that involves two activities that go on at the same time: building up body tissues and energy stores (anabolism) and breaking down body tissues and energy stores to get more fuel for body functions (catabolism).
• Sleep loss can affect metabolic functions of storing carbohydrates and regulating hormones, like thyroid-stimulating hormone which is lower when sleep-deprived and cortisol levels which are higher. This can induce insulin resistance.
• Increases risk of cardiovascular diseases.
• Triggers physiological and hormonal changes that increase blood pressure and inflammation.
• Can potentially trigger a build-up of plaques, which can cause heart attack or stroke.
• Sleeps affects your weight by controlling hunger hormones, ghrelin (increases appetite) and leptin (increases sense of fullness). Lack of sleep increases ghrelin and supresses leptin so short sleepers may feel hungrier and eat more unhealthy foods.

Sleep is important

While you sleep, your breathing slows down, your heart rate and blood pressure drops, muscle activity drops, your brain clears out toxins, which can cause neurogenerative diseases. Your metabolism slows down by 15%. Sleep is needed to restore cells and shouldn’t be a luxury, it’s needed to restore bodily functions.

Sleep hygiene tips

The Mayo Clinic suggests:

• Sticking to a sleep schedule. Most adults need six to eight hours of sleep a night.
• Pay attention to what you eat and drink before bedtime. Do not go to bed on a full or empty stomach. Pay attention to your intake of caffeine, alcohol, and nicotine intake.
• Stress management.
• Including physical activity into your daily activities.
• Limit daytime naps unless you are a shift worker.
• Create a restful sleeping environment. Dark room, avoid light-emitting screens; consider ear plugs.

People living with diabetes or parents of young children living with diabetes could be finding it a challenge to sleep uninterrupted due to hypo or hyperglycaemia, please speak to your diabetes educator or doctor.

If you’re waking up feeling unrested, ask your sleeping partner about your snoring and breathing patterns. You might want to speak to your doctor about conducting sleep studies.

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With the new season upon us, we are so excited to share the Norflex Adventure Guide to help you find your next adventure.

Being active is important not only for physical well-being but for mental health too. Research has shown that exercising especially outdoors has additional benefits. These include helping people to find and maintain regular physical activity. Plus, these types of activities often appeal to a broad array of people with different fitness levels and are also often very cost-effective.¹

Whether you want to hike a breath-taking new route; experience the thrill of running a new scenic trail; push yourself to pedal a different terrain; or find a spot for a swim or a walk, the Norflex Adventure Guide is your go-to for all things excitement and an invitation to discover where to unlock more outdoor fitness and adventure opportunities.

About The Norflex Adventure Guide

The Norflex Guide is a user-friendly website that showcases many of the fun hikes, runs and swims across South Africa. Search for the adventure of choice anywhere in the country, whether you prefer an easy, moderate or hard workout, with fun being an option too.

You can let them know which adventures you tried, and which ones you want them to include, by liking their page and sending them a message on Facebook.

The Norflex Adventure Guide is also a useful resource to find a local parkrun, whether you’re looking at a location close to where you live or want to join others when you’re travelling. The parkrun is a weekly event, usually held on a Saturday, that invites people of any fitness level to walk, jog or run 5km, with runs taking place in over 210 venues around the country.²

Go to thenorflexguide.co.za to find your next adventure and don’t forget to review each experience on the website.