How Much You Need to Walk to Protect Your Brain from Dementia: New Data from Scientists

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Scientists have learned how many steps a day elderly people need to take to protect themselves from Alzheimer’s disease.

Walking just 3,000 steps a day is enough to reduce the risk of developing Alzheimer’s disease.

We have firmly embedded in our minds the necessity to walk at least 10,000 steps daily (thanks to the Japanese and their brilliant pedometer advertising), however, much less is needed to maintain health — according to a recent study, to delay changes in the brain and cognitive decline, just 3,000 steps taken in a day is sufficient.

More than 55 million people worldwide suffer from dementia. The most common form of it is Alzheimer’s disease — a condition associated with the accumulation in the brain of two toxic forms of proteins: beta-amyloid plaques and neurofibrillary tangles.

Recent findings on the prevention of this disease were not obtained in a year or even two — this study, conducted by scientists from Massachusetts General Hospital in the USA, lasted for 14 years. During this time, nearly 300 participants aged 50 to 90 counted their daily steps using pedometers, regularly underwent positron emission tomography to determine the levels of amyloid and tau proteins in the brain, and also completed cognitive tests.

What the Study Showed

At the beginning of the study, the authors also determined the level of amyloid in the brains of volunteers to understand who among them was most susceptible to developing neurodegenerative diseases.

Observations revealed that participants who already had these plaques showed that physical activity reduced the accumulation of misfolded tau proteins in certain areas of the brain, thereby lowering the likelihood of developing Alzheimer’s disease. The benefits were evident with just 3,000 steps a day — about half an hour of walking at a moderate pace.

However, the study also showed that a higher number of steps does not always correlate with the highest level of protection against health problems: the best effects on brain health were observed with 5,000–7,500 steps a day, after which the effect diminished.

The authors of the study have not yet been able to provide a precise answer on how this mechanism works, but it is suggested that physical activity improves blood flow, reduces inflammation, and increases the levels of certain hormones and growth factors that may play an important role in reducing the risk of developing dementia.