Average Daily Steps: Invigorating, Meditative, Intellectually Stimulating

This graphic is for the period August 2019 to August 2020.  

The shortest bar is for April of this year (a daily average of 1,012 steps). The month before (March), I like others began  “sheltering in place.”  For March I average 1,883 daily steps.

Prior to March, I got most of my steps in by using “public transportation.” I would walk to the Downtown Silver Spring Metro Station. After exiting at another station, I would walk to  meetings or appointments. After a meeting or appointment, I would reverse my commute.

Towards the end of May (3,182 average daily steps), I began a walking routine. I was trying to follow my doctor’s advice to walk 30 minutes in the morning and in the evening. I had gotten her prescription in February.

In June my average daily number of steps increased significantly (6,577). My walks varied between 30 and 120 minutes.

For July, I’m off to a good start (5,991).

Once I increased my walking in May, I realized that I, like others, missed being “outdoors.” The more I got out, the more I recognized that I had “cabin fever.”  

The overall sense of well being I’ve gotten from being outdoors has kept me going.

Also, I “needed”  “to walk” so that I could listen to “War & Peace” by Leo Tolstoy. My siblings and I are reading it. I’ve found listening to it on one or more of my walks each week as an easy way for me to get through the book. The audio verson is 60 hours. So I have a lot of walking to do to get to complete the novel.

So “walking” is invigorating, meditative, and mentally stimulating.