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Think 10,000 Steps a Day Is the Magic Number for Brain Health? Research Suggests Otherwise
A study found that benefits associated with your cognitive health begin at a different step count. Experts say pace and consistency matter just as much as distance
Aug 9, 2026
Illustration: Inc; Photo: Adobe Stock
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For years, we’ve treated 10,000 daily steps as the magic number for optimal health. However, new research on dementia suggests the payoff for your brain starts well below that
According to a study of over 75,000 adults published in the peer-reviewed journal JAMA Neurology, the benefits of walking for dementia risk begin far below that familiar goal.
“I think the biggest misconception is that you need to be highly fit or do vigorous exercise to meaningfully reduce your risk of dementia,” Borja del Pozo Cruz, PhD, a senior researcher at Universidad Europea in Madrid and an author of the 2022 study, told Inc. “Our study showed that walking—something almost everyone can do—was strongly associated with a lower risk of developing dementia. Perhaps most importantly, the benefits started well below the traditional 10,000-step target.”
In the study, he said, roughly 3,800 steps a day was associated with about a 25 percent lower risk of dementia. The maximum benefit for cognitive health ws reached at around 9,800 steps.
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Pace also mattered. “Not only how much you walk, but how purposefully you walk, may be important for brain health,” he said
Other researchers put the threshold even lower. Teresa Liu-Ambrose, PhD, PT, a professor and Tier 1 Canada Research Chair in Healthy Aging at the University of British Columbia, told Inc. that 7,000 steps a day is associated with a 38 percent reduction in dementia risk. “For most adults, this equates to about a 60-minute walk, or a 20-minute walk after each meal throughout the day.”
Why consistency beats intensity
“It’s ‘use it or you lose it,’” Liu-Ambrose told Inc. “So between intensity versus consistency, evidence would suggest consistency—adhering to regular physical activity over time—is more important than intensity. Some activity is better than no activity.”
