You've probably heard by now that exercising regularly is good for your brain and may even help lower your risk of Alzheimer's disease. But new research suggests that you don't have to kill yourself at the gym to harness these perks. The study, which was published in Nature Medicine last year but is making the rounds now, found that taking just 3,000 steps a day is linked to significantly lower rates of cognitive decline, along with fewer markers of Alzheimer's disease.
It's worth pointing out that 3,000 steps isn't a ton (we're talking about walking about 1.5 miles in a day). That makes this a very doable goal to aim for. But how accurate is this, and what does it suggest about the 10,000-step goal everyone throws around?
Meet the experts: Clifford Segil, DO, a neurologist at Providence Saint John's Health Center; Nikhil Satchidanand, PhD, a research assistant professor of medicine in the Jacobs School of Medicine and Biomedical Sciences at the University at Buffalo; Liron Sinvani, MD, director of research and innovation for the Institute for Healthy Aging at Northwell Health and the Feinstein Institutes for Medical Research; Anna Hohler, MD, regional director of Neurology for Westchester, Northwell Health, and chair of Neurology for Northern Westchester and Phelps hospitals; and Shannel Elhelou, PsyD, a neuropsychologist and founder of Brain Centric Neuropsychology in Westlake Village, California. For the observational study, researchers analyzed data from 296 people between the ages of 50 and 90 who participated in the Harvard Aging Brain Study, a long-running study that tracks brain changes in older adults. None of the participants had dementia or signs of cognitive decline at the start of the study.
Participants wore waistband pedometers to track their physical activity and underwent PET brain scans to measure the amount of amyloid-beta plaques and tau tangles (both are hallmarks of Alzheimer’s disease). Participants also underwent cognitive assessment about 9.3 years later. The researchers found that people who had higher step counts also had lower rates of cognitive decline.
Higher step counts were also linked with a slower buildup of tau. Not only that, but walking 3,000 to 5,000 steps daily seemed to slow progression of Alzheimer's disease in people who were at a higher risk of developing it. Specifically, those considered high risk for Alzheimer's disease who walked 3,000 to 5,000 steps a day had a three-year delay in developing cognitive decline.
People who walked 5,000 to 7,500 steps daily saw a seven-year delay in their cognitive decline. Those who were more sedentary saw a buildup of tau proteins in the brain, along with faster rates of decline in their cognition and daily functioning. There are probably a few things behind this, according to neurologists.
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