Walking Keeps You Young, Walking Challenge Update & Netflix Reviews

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Jan 12, 2025

Welcome to a weekly newsletter for those who want to stay younger for longer, remaining upbeat. I’ve spent the last 30 years following the science of putting that into practice. Subscribe to my newsletter and be part of a global community focused on enhancing health and well-being in later life through evidence-based lifestyle choices.

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An older man and woman carrying Nordic walking sticks as they walk through a forest. They are looking happy. — Illustration courtesy of Canva.com

Walking Keeps You Young

Treat your body as a temple; respect it, don’t fill it with junk food, or sit for long stretches without moving. The obvious way of visually differentiating between young and old people is the way they move. A young healthy person moves easily whereas an older person, if they haven’t exercised and kept moving, will walk stiffly and slowly. Stay younger for longer by doing the exercises needed to help you move easily into older age.

A study published in the British Journal of Sports Medicine in November 2024, linked insufficient physical activity with premature death. However, the researchers found that those who took a daily walk could extend their lives. Also, the people who were less active to begin with were likely to increase their lives by an additional eleven years. The participants in the study were all over forty, so in the second half of life.

Regular walking, either indoors or outdoors, has a myriad of benefits. A recent study* found that walking as little as 4,000 steps every day can reduce our risk of all-cause mortality. Other studies show that regular walking contributes to healthy ageing. Yet another research study shows that those who exercise, including walking, 2 and a half hours per week, can avoid certain cancers, and reduce stress levels.

Daily walking is good for heart health, keeping joints lubricated, and keeping you flexible. Walking in the park or in nature is good for your mental health. It’s a weight-bearing exercise and so good for osteoporosis. For the sake of your physical, mental and emotional health, start stepping out regularly.

*Walking Challenge Who’s With Me

Walking Challenge Update

Our Walking Challenge group is still going strong and all those logging their efforts are doing really well. When we can’t reach the target one day, we make up for it the next. We are very supportive of each other and there’s a real sense of community.

The target is 4,000 steps a day throughout January. Our group comprises Joan, Graham, Brodee, Cherie, Jennifer, Genifer, Michelle, Lisa, Karen, Erica, Lisa-Renee, Sarah, Maggie, Francesca, Wendy, Ram Van (who walked 9.009 steps on his 74th birthday), Sheila, Katiejane, Louisa, Katherine, Despina, Julie, The Wily Old Fox, Natasha, Jane, Sara, Cathy and myself.

With group members in the second half of life, some in their 70s and 80s, their determination proves that age is no barrier to staying active and that 4,000 daily steps are an achievable goal no matter your age.

I’m particularly inspired by how they support each other virtually and have built a genuine sense of global community. Every step we take is a step toward healthier aging.

You can still join in. Go to the Chat thread for Life In The Second Half and begin logging your daily step count.

person holding remote pointing at TV — Photo by freestocks on Unsplash

Netflix Reviews

Temple ***** (A Series)

An offbeat series, which according to The Mirror is based on a Norwegian thriller series called Valkerien and was originally aired on Sky in 2019. It stars Mark Strong as a surgeon who sets up an illegal clinic beneath Temple Tube Station in London in an attempt to save his dying wife, played by Catherine McCormack, who has developed a fatal degenerative disease.

Daniel Mays plays his help-mate and Craig Parkinson, a psychopathic criminal they get involved with. There are two series available. I found the first series so gripping I binge-watched it over two nights. The second series dragged a little, but I was so anxious to know how it ended I stayed with it. I wasn’t disappointed. The ending was a shock surprise.

Clean Sweep *** (A Series)

This Irish series stretched the plot plausibility scope, with some twists that would not have worked had everything else involved in the production not been up to standard. However, I found it very watchable and enjoyed it, with its Nordic Noir atmosphere. It centres around a family; the husband is a detective in the Garda and he’s a womaniser.

His wife is very forgiving. She has a mysterious past life which comes to haunt her and causes her to be involved in criminal activity that her husband is investigating. We get to know the couple and their three children pretty well before the end, leaving us wondering if the writer intended a future series. It stars Charlene McKenna (previously in Peaky Blinders) and Barry Ward as the couple.

Good Grief **** (A Movie)

A film written, produced, and starring Dan Levy. It’s a beautiful production, visually appealing, set in London and Paris. I read somewhere it was a deliberate choice by Levy to make the film visually attractive. He plays a man in mourning for most of the film. It’s about love, loss, friendship, and betrayal; I very much enjoyed it. In an interview, Dan Levy says that the film is ultimately about friendship. This is what he set out to write and he succeeded in that.

It also stars Luke Evans, Himesh Patel, and Ruth Negg. The soundtrack has a good list of songs which I found on Spotify.

A Shout-out to Other Newsletters

Other Substack newsletters dedicated to people in the second half of life I recommend you check out are written by:

Katharine Esty and

If you wish, a way to lend one-time support for the time and work that goes into my posts - tip your server with a £4 hot chocolate: https://ko-fi.com/patriciacusack

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