Walking is a very effective and accessible exercise that can keep you healthy throughout your life. Besides keeping you physically fit, a new study shows that it could have additional mental benefits down the line. The study, led by Mass General Brigham, an integrated health system based in Boston, found that taking a daily stroll could help slow down the cognitive decline associated with Alzheimer’s disease.
Published in Nature Medicine, the research takes a deep look at lifestyle habits, medical data, and brain scans of 296 participants aged between 50 and 90 years old. The volunteers, who had no cognitive impairment at the start of the study, were then followed for 14 years. Among their explorations, the scientists scanned the participants’ brains for amyloid and tau, proteins that are related to the progressive disease when found in larger amounts, as well as constant cognitive tests.
According to their findings, even low levels of physical activity were associated with 34% to 40% slower cognitive and functional decline. One of the most exciting parts of this is that the target to fight the decline is achievable by many. All you need to do is take between 5,000 and 7,500 steps a day. Even taking as little as 3,000 steps per day has somewhat of a positive effect as well.
“Notably, the associations with more favorable tau and cognitive trajectories reached a plateau by moderate levels of physical activity (5,001–7,500 steps per day), which may be a less daunting goal for sedentary older adults than the popular goal of 10,000 steps per day commonly referenced in lay media,” write the researchers.
Beyond its effects on Alzheimer’s disease, scientists from Yale University School of Medicine and Central South University found that health risks were significantly reduced at 8,250 steps a day. Meanwhile, our risk of dementia and cancer also decreases with the more steps we take every day, according to a study published in Jama International Medicine. But there’s no need to go beyond a 10,000-steps-a-day goal, as benefits usually plateau once you’ve reached this amount.
Sources: Physical activity as a modifiable risk factor in preclinical Alzheimer’s disease
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