Swing your arms - Habit of the Week

Even though it is cold, let's uncross our arms and start revving up by actually using our arms. There are lots of benefits.

I have been experimenting on my morning walk.. I  have been purposefully moving my arms when I go up that dreaded hill, and the hill seemed easier.  Then.at the top of the hill, using more arm movement, once again, a bonus - I recovered better.

But why?

Circulation is improved.  The moving of the arm muscles assists the "venous return" - the flow of blood back to the heart relies on the pump of muscles, not thebeat of the heart.  So moving the arms is a way of ensuring more blood returns to the heart and the brain.

Posture is improved, especially if you allow your arms to swing towards the back, as well as the front. Remember, the wind changes and you stay that way. Better to have your arms gently behind than hanging in front like a gorilla.

This effort of swinging your arms requires very little of our energy. 

Curious?  Well, what is the energy-cost of swinging our arms? 

I had a hunch. So I looked it up.  Very exciting news, indeed.

"Researchers found that normal arm swinging actually doesn't use much energy from the arm muscles. Simply walking causes the body to sway in a way that makes the arms move naturally, like a pendulum."

"So when you walk, your arms begin to swing naturally without much effort from your arm muscles. The natural movement of your arms also helps to offset a part of the force caused by your legs hitting the ground, keeping your torso and hips from wobbling and twisting too much. This results in your legs using less energy"

The article also says that keeping the arms still while you walk costs 12% extra energy.

I found a fun website Wonderopolis.     These quotes are from Wonder of the day #1538.

Here is the link;-  wonderopolis.org