Walking Extra 1,000 Steps May Increase Longevity: Study

Walking extra more steps daily may increase your life span, new research has found.

The findings, which were presented on Thursday at the American Heart Association’s Epidemiology and Prevention | Lifestyle and Cardiometabolic Health Conference, discovered that people who increase their daily steps each day had a significantly lower death risk than those who were less active.

Prior evidence uncovered that walking has many positive health effects such as cardiovascular improvements, better sleep quality, and improved mental health.

The researchers examined 16,732 women aged 60 and older, who wore a step counter on their waist between 2011 and 2015, and found that health benefits were consistent among people who walked in uninterrupted sessions and those who walked in short spurts.

The participant’s steps were pided into two categories, longer walks lasting at least 10 minutes and short bursts of walking, such as going upstairs or walking to the car. The researchers followed up with the study participants for an average of 6 years, until 2019.

They identified a 32% decrease in death among those who took at least 2,000 steps a day. Each increase of 1,000 steps a day was associated with a 28% decrease in death. The health benefits, which plateaued around 4,500 daily steps, were similar among people who walked in short bursts and those who took longer uninterrupted walks.

According to Dr. Elizabeth Gardner, a Yale Medicine sports medicine specialist and a team physician at Yale Athletics, changing pace during a walk can lead to more health benefits, explaining that walking at a faster pace for 30-second intervals then slowing down for another 30 seconds can increase heart rate, which can help burn more calories and boost cardiovascular health.

She noted that walking is also an excellent whole-body exercise. It utilizes not only the muscles of the whole leg but also the core and gluteus muscles for stability and propulsion.

Dr. Jennifer Wong, a cardiologist and medical director of Non-Invasive Cardiology at MemorialCare Heart and Vascular Institute at Orange Coast Medical Center in Fountain Valley, CA, stated walking can help improve the quality of one’s life, increasing energy levels, improving sleep quality, helping with mood, as well as slowing mental decline.

Wong recommends taking a walk during a lunch break, cleaning the house, or walking in place while watching TV, noting people can get more steps by parking farther away and walking a longer distance to their final destination or taking the stairs instead of the elevator.

People don’t need to commit to lengthy strolls every day to improve their health. Squeezing in bursts of steps through everyday activities has the same health benefits.