10 Minutes a day of brisk walking each day can have serious health benefits

August 24, 2017
New One You campaign encourages adults across Cumbria to get more active by building just 10 minutes of brisk walking into their daily lives
Modern day life makes it hard to be healthy, so it’s not surprising that most of us are not fitting enough physical activity into our days. Sitting down at work and commuting by car or public transport means we’re not active for a lot of the working day and technology allows us to shop and stay in touch without ever having to leave the sofa.
However, a brisk ten minute walk can make a huge difference to your health - it gets the heart pumping faster, can make you feel better, more energetic and improve your mood.
Over time, brisk walking can help to lower the risk of serious illnesses like heart disease and type 2 diabetes.
Active Cumbria, part of Cumbria County Council’s Public Health & Communities service is supporting the drive from Public Health England to encourage Cumbrian adults to start improving their health by walking briskly for 10 minutes each day and to help, people are being encouraged to download the ‘Active 10’ app. This free app shows how much brisk walking you’re doing, when you can increase your pace and how you can fit more brisk walking into your day. It also sets goals and provides hints and tips to keep you going.
Deborah Earl, Portfolio Holder for Public Health and Communities within Cumbria County Council said:
“Fitting exercise in, or even having the energy to exercise can be difficult for some, the Active 10 campaign provides a realistic approach to those challenges. The benefits of just 10 minutes a day brisk walking are far more than you may imagine, you are not only lessening the risk of heart disease and type 2 diabetes but this brief 10 minutes out of your day can help reduce stress, and improve your mood.”
Richard Johnston, Senior Manager from Active Cumbria said:
“We’re excited to support Public Health England in their drive to get the local community more physically active. This campaign fits in really well with our vision that everyone in Cumbria is physically active as part of their everyday life”
50,000 people across the UK have already downloaded the app and are on their way to a healthier lifestyle, so why not join them?
Visit https://www.activecumbria.org/active10 or search ‘Active 10’ online to find out more and to download the app.