Walking just 4,000 steps a day may reduce dementia risk

Taking as many steps as possible in a day by walking or doing other physical activities has many health benefits, such as preventing heart disease, lowering blood pressure, and relieving stress.

According to a new study published in JAMA Neurologyyour daily step count may offer some protection against dementia. Researchers have found that walking between 3,800 and 9,800 steps per day can help reduce a person’s risk of cognitive decline.

For the study, researchers analyzed data from more than 78,000 people between the ages of 40 and 79 who wore a device that measures vibration and motion (wrist accelerometers) for nearly seven years.

The participants came from the UK Biobank, a large-scale biomedical database containing information on the health of almost half a million people in the UK.

The researchers categorized the participants into two categories based on the total number of steps they took per day:

• Less than 40 steps per minute
• More than 40 steps per minute (also called “intentional” walking)

Next, the researchers compared each person’s daily step count to diagnoses of dementia of any type seven years later.

Borja del Pozo Cruz, PhD, the study’s lead author and adjunct associate professor at the University of Southern Denmark, and senior health science researcher at the University of Cadiz, told Verywell that the researchers were controlling some factors such as age, gender, race/ethnicity, education and socio-economic status.

They also adjusted for health and lifestyle factors like cardiovascular disease, poor diet, smoking, alcohol consumption, medications, and sleep problems.

“We found that taking just under 10,000 steps a day offered the kind of maximum reduction in dementia risk,” del Pozo Cruz said. “However, if you’re not sitting in that 3,800 or 10,000 step range, that doesn’t mean it doesn’t count, because every step counts.”

How much walking reduces the risk of dementia?

The researchers found that participants who took 9,826 steps per day were 50% less likely to develop dementia within seven years, and that taking 3,800 steps per day was associated with a 25% lower risk.

People who walked about 6,300 steps per day with more intensity or “purpose” (a pace of 40 or more steps per minute) had the greatest decrease in dementia risk, up to 57%.

The authors found that after people reached 10,000 steps per day, the benefits between daily steps and dementia risk were limited. However, that’s not to say that achieving a higher step count isn’t a valid health goal.

“Beyond 10,000 steps, we didn’t see a clear association,” del Pozo Cruz said, “but I would say the benefits are less clear, but perhaps no less significant.”

Set a step goal for dementia? Experts don’t say yet

Despite the research findings, other health experts who were not involved in the study point out that the results have limitations.

First, the study was observational. This means that it did not prove a direct causal relationship between the number of steps taken per day and a lower risk of dementia.

Joe Verghese, MD, MS, FRCPI, professor of neurology, medicine, and geriatrics at the Albert Einstein College of Medicine, told Verywell that other study limitations to consider were a “low response rate , a younger population compared to other studies, and those who walk more may also engage in health behaviors such as being more cognitively engaged and eating better.

With these limitations in mind, Verghese said it was “premature to set a step limit for dementia.”

However, Verghese added that walking in general, as well as increasing the number of steps you take per day, is still worth doing as it will support your overall health.

“That’s not to say walking isn’t beneficial as there are clear benefits for other systems such as the heart, lung and bone systems,” Verghese said. “Walking is also associated with a reduced risk of heart attacks, strokes and death.”

OK, but how many steps are enough?

Doug Eliason, DO, vice president of clinical affairs at P3 Health Partners Oregon, told Verywell that the researchers “did not find that there was no benefit to doing lower-level exercise.”

Indeed, del Pozo Cruz said that all the steps you can take per day are better than taking none at all — and that goes for other forms of physical activity, too.

For example, a study published in Neurology in August, found that both higher and lower level exercise – such as running, walking, cycling, climbing stairs, gardening and even housework-related activities – were associated with a lower risk of dementia.

While del Pozo Cruz’s study indicated that 3,800 to 9,800 steps per day was a possible “sweet spot” for reducing the risk of cognitive decline, it’s far from an all-or-nothing rule.

Eliason said if people are able to take that many steps, “it’s fantastic and they should,” but the research “in no way indicates that doing less doesn’t benefit the individual.”

How could daily steps reduce the risk of dementia?

According to del Pozo Cruz, more research is needed to better understand why walking and increasing the number of steps you take per day might be linked to a lower risk of dementia.

The researchers have a few ideas, however. For example, del Pozo Cruz suggested that physical activity, in general, is associated with better cardiovascular and vascular outcomes.

“We don’t yet know exactly why, but physical activity can improve and is associated with a better cardiovascular and vascular profile,” del Pozo Cruz said.

Eliason added that taking more steps per day and doing other forms of exercise not only conditions the cardiovascular system, but also makes the heart beat faster. Physical activity also helps the heart and lungs become more efficient at delivering oxygen.

According to Eliason, when more blood flow and oxygen can get to other parts of the body, like the brain, it could eventually reduce the risk of developing dementia.

“Our brain is perhaps our most sensitive organ to blood flow,” Eliason said. “The brain takes up a lot of our blood flow because we need a steady, steady level of oxygen and sugar delivered to brain tissue for the brain to function optimally.”

Therefore, Eliason said, “Anything that improves blood flow to the brain appears to have positive benefits for how cognitive we are and how alert we are.”

Stepless steps to a healthy brain

Besides walking and other forms of physical activity, del Pozo Cruz, Eliason and Verghese shared other steps people can take to reduce their risk of dementia, especially if their ability to take physical steps is limited. .

Here are some of their suggestions:

• Get enough sleep (for most adults, that’s 7-9 hours each night)
• Limit alcohol consumption
• Avoid smoking and drug use
• Manage cholesterol and blood pressure levels
• Engage in cognitively stimulating activities (eg, board games, card games, puzzles, musical instruments, learning a new language)

“Anything that improves cardiovascular health, in theory, should also improve brain health,” Eliason said.

Some examples? “Avoid smoking as damage to blood vessels occurs when you smoke, manage cholesterol as it can clog and block vessels, and manage blood pressure and diabetes as both can be very harmful to blood vessels if they are not supported,” Eliason said.