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Walking to school reduces stress in children

A simple exercise like walking to school may help children reduce their stress throughout the day.

Walking to school reduces stress in children

A simple exercise like walking to school  may help children reduce their stress throughout the day.

Studies have shown that moderate exercise such as brisk walking helps to lower heart disease death risks and improve heart conditions. To study the association between stress in school going children and heart related diseases, researchers followed 40 school going children (20 girls and 20 boys), aged 10 to 14 years.

Half the children sat on comfortable chairs and watched a 10-minute slide show that included images of a suburban neighbourhood and ended with an image of a suburban school to simulate a drive to school. The other children did a one-mile walk on a treadmill at a self-selected pace and wore a school bag that contained 10 percent of their body weight. Both groups of children rested for 20 minutes and then took a test in which they were asked to identify various colours.

It was found that heart rate increased by about three beats per minute in children who walked as compared with about 11 beats per minute in children who underwent the simulated drive to school. Compared to those who walked, the children who rode had a three times higher increase in systolic blood pressure and two times the perceived stress.

The study suggests walking to school may dampen cardiovascular reactivity and perceived stress, which in turn can help reduce the risk for heart disease later in life.
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