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Wellness > Health

A Mile A Day Keeps the Sadness Away

This article is written by a student writer from the Her Campus at UC Riverside chapter.

I’ve always enjoyed the constants in life. I love to have a routine established, but when COVID-19 hit, it really shook things up for me. Being at home with my family caused me to make some major adjustments to my routine and work schedule such as registering for classes early on so I can have the afternoons with my siblings. Once I finally felt like I had some routine down, then the time change happened. 

The first day with the time change, I woke up at nine in the morning since I usually wake up at ten. I decided to keep it up and try to do it for the rest of the week so I could have a new one. With the added time to my mornings, I figured I could establish a new addition to my morning routine. The first morning of adding the walk to my morning, I was tired. At first, I made it an every other day thing since I go to Zumba twice a week, but then I found myself actually wanting to go on walks every day.

Person Stands on Brown Pathway
Photo by Tobi from Pexels
My walks in the morning are usually a quarter-mile to a mile long and it helps me feel happier to start the day. I get to see different animals like doves or roadrunners and I get to get some fresh air since we are in the house most of the time. Plus, since it is fall, the mornings are nice enough now where I get to wear my sweats. Personally, the transition to the colder months has been a struggle. It could be SAD, formally known as Seasonal Affective Disorder, but I’m not officially diagnosed. 

So far, I feel like these walks can be a preventive measure for me and my December sadness. Walking every day has so many personal and health-related benefits. Personally, it lets me get out of my bed faster since I want to go for a walk. This means less screen time and feeling more productive. Healthwise, I did find out I suffer from high cholesterol. Going on these morning walks can help me stay active and manage it better. Overall, they also help me feel more motivated since I started my day with at least one “productive” thing. If you’re able to, I would highly recommend walking before you start your mornings or establishing a morning routine that makes you feel your best!

Mya Benavides

UC Riverside '21

Lover of kindness, music, and creating. Undergrad at UCR pursuing a B.A. in Sociology along with a Minor in English.