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9 Great Reasons to Walk More
It’s good for your heart and weight, but the benefits go further
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Key takeaways
- Walking is linked to better sleep, with studies showing benefits for falling asleep and staying asleep, especially when you walk in the morning.
- Mindful walking and regular physical activity may help reduce depression risk, help you lose and maintain weight, and support mental well-being.
- Even modest amounts of brisk walking can help preserve mobility, support recovery after surgery and benefit heart and brain health.
Ready to start walking or take your routine to the next level? Doing so can be beneficial for your mental and physical health. Here are nine reasons to walk regularly, whether you opt for a treadmill or outdoor terrain.
1. Add years to your life
Want to keep adding candles to that birthday cake? A 2020 study in JAMA found that the more steps participants over age 40 took, the lower their mortality risk from all causes.
Walkers who took 8,000 steps a day had a 51 percent lower mortality compared with those who took 4,000. In fact, getting 12,000 steps a day was linked to a 65 percent lower risk of death. Even better, a rigorous walk wasn’t required to see these benefits; low-intensity strolls appeared to be just as effective, though newer evidence shows perks for vigorous exercise bursts if you’re able.
How many steps a day are ideal? A 2022 report in The Lancet Public Health specified that people under 60 who took about 8,000 to 10,000 steps per day saw the death risk stabilize, while the same was true for those 60 and up who got about 6,000 to 8,000 steps a day.
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2. Bolster your brain
Regular aerobic exercise appears to increase the size of the hippocampus, the region of the brain responsible for memory. And the benefits can be pretty immediate. A study in the Journal of the International Neuropsychological Society on people ages 55 to 85 showed that a single session of exercise increased activation in the brain circuits associated with memory.
Strolling regularly may help those with memory problems. According to a Neurology study, just 35 minutes of continuous walking or stationary biking three times a week, combined with a heart-healthy Mediterranean diet, improved the scores on thinking tests of subjects who had “verified cognitive concerns,” such as remembering or concentrating.
Walking 3,000 to 5,000 steps a day was enough to delay cognitive decline in nearly 300 people aged 50 to 90, according to a 2025 report in Nature Medicine. Those who got 5,000 to 7,000 steps per day put it off by about seven years, the data showed. Similarly, a 2022 report in JAMA Neurology pegged 9,800 steps per day in those ages 40 to 79 to a 50 percent lower chance of developing dementia and 3,800 steps a day to a 25 percent lower risk.
Not into counting steps? Pace could be your sweet spot. A report out this year in Neurology analyzing data from seven studies of people over 80 showed that those keeping a fast pace of approximately 2.5 miles per hour (at least) were about 50 percent less likely to develop cognitive impairment over the next few years and 60 percent less likely to be diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease or another dementia. Quick walkers had less decline in memory and thinking skills over time too.
Slower walkers have a 64 percent increased risk of stroke compared with those who move briskly, according to a study published this year in Stroke. Picking up ening your pace — adding about 20 steps per minute — can make a difference. A study published this year in Circulation finds regularly walking over 3 miles per hour (mph) was linked to a 53 percent lower risk of stroke, compared with walking under 2 mph.
3. Trim extra inches
As we get older, fat that used to primarily land on our hips and thighs can start to shift to our belly region, but regular cardio sessions may reduce it. “You don’t lose a ton of weight exercising, but what you do lose tends to be centrally located,” says Dr. Tim Church, a former professor of preventive medicine at Pennington Biomedical Research Center at Louisiana State University in Baton Rouge. “A disproportional amount of weight is lost in the abdomen through physical activity.”
Walking 75 minutes briskly once a week reduced total body fat mass, body fat percentage and waist circumference, according to a small 2026 study in Nature Communications. Results were comparable to splitting up the walking time over three days. In other words, if you can walk only one day a week, you can still obtain results.
Here’s another bonus: Older research has found that power walkers could reduce belly fat, particularly dangerous visceral fat, which puts you at risk for diabetes, high blood pressure and heart disease.
Walking may help you stick to your diet too. In a study published in Appetite, stressed-out office workers ate only half as much chocolate as they normally would after breaking away from their desks for a 15-minute walk. Some research shows that getting about 8,500 steps per day is ideal to support weight loss maintenance.
4. Save your vision
Hold the carrots. Moderate walking may be even better for our eyes. A study in Ophthalmology examined the possible link between specific types of physical activity, including walking, and the risk of age-related cataracts in more than 52,000 participants. Walking or bicycling more than 60 minutes a day, versus hardly ever, was associated with a decreased risk of cloudy lenses, particularly in the long term.
Another eye-opener: Meeting physical activity guidelines could lower your risk of developing glaucoma by 40 percent or more, according to research in Medicine & Science in Sports & Exercise.
Experts believe exercise lowers your risk of developing type 2 diabetes, heart disease and high blood pressure — all of which can contribute to cataracts. Cardio, or aerobic exercise, may also lower pressure in your eyes, which can cause distortions in the retina, lens and cornea and wreak havoc with your vision. Further, being active increases the blood flow to the optic nerve in the retina.
5. Get a good night’s sleep
If you’re among the 50 percent of people over age 65 with chronic sleep problems, walking could be your ticket to better shut-eye — something important for everything from preventing heart disease to staying sharp as you age.
A report on 21 studies published this year in Frontiers in Public Health showed walking may improve subjective sleep quality. Specifically, moderate-intensity walking three to five times per week or about 30 to 60 minutes for 12 to 24 weeks could be the ideal prescription to improve your rest. A small 2020 study in Sleep Health correlated physical activity to better sleep quality but not duration.
If you can walk first thing in the morning, even better, as early light appears to help you reset your natural circadian rhythm. Indeed, a study found that postmenopausal women between the ages of 50 and 75 who walked briskly for 30 minutes in the morning were 70 percent less likely to have trouble falling asleep.
6. Chill out more easily
An afternoon of mindful walking may offer stress-busting benefits. A Journal of Alternative and Complementary Medicine study found that an aerobic-walking exercise that incorporated Buddhism-based meditations was more effective in reducing depression in the participants ages 60 to 90 than a traditional aerobic-walking program. Walking in nature, as opposed to an urban setting, may help relieve stress as well. A small 2025 study in Nature showed that just two 40-minute walking sessions in the woods per week over one month lowered cortisol levels, which are linked with stress when in excess.
This comes as no surprise to Mary Maddux, cofounder of Meditation Oasis. “Mindful walking clears your mind and helps you reconnect with your body,” she says. To try it, breathe in a relaxed, natural manner and walk at an unhurried pace. Take in what’s going on around you — think birds chirping or leaves rustling — and what you’re experiencing through your senses. “Let it all go, and you can come back refreshed and be able to see things with new eyes,” Maddux says.
7. Ward off depression
Joggers love to talk about the “runner’s high.” But can you get a psychological boost going at a slower pace? It looks that way. According to a 2019 study in JAMA Psychiatry, walking for an hour a day (or 15 minutes of running) can reduce your risk of major depression and lower your chances of becoming depressed by 26 percent for each major increase in physical activity (say, swapping one hour of couch time for an hour of brisk walking).
8. Keep yourself moving for the long term
A good stride can preserve your mobility and independence too. Beyond mobility benefits, studies show links between walking and faster recoveries from surgery and from chemotherapy for breast cancer.
Scientists found that just one hour of brisk walking a week — or less than 10 minutes a day — was enough to reduce the risk of disability in adults who already had osteoarthritis.
Sedentary older adults who started exercising regularly (moderate walking being the main activity) cut their risk of suffering a disabling injury or illness, but those who developed a physical disability were one-third more likely to recover from it compared with those who remained inactive, a study in the Annals of Internal Medicine found.
9. Better heart health
Walking can benefit your ticker and potentially stave off heart issues. Keep the acronym FIT — frequency, intensity and time — in mind whether you’re starting a walking program or are a regular walker, recommends the American Heart Association. That is, aim for 150 minutes or more of moderate intensity or 75 minutes of vigorous aerobic activity per week (you can also get a combination of both). Sticking to around 2 to 3 mph can yield benefits (if you go slower and you’re on a treadmill, upping the incline can boost intensity without having to go faster).
A 2025 report in the Annals of Internal Medicine found that those who took longer walks — of at least 15 minutes — had a lower risk of heart disease and early death from any cause compared with those racking up steps in shorter bouts.
Pay attention to your stride
Why does walking seem harder as we age? We tend to stiffen our ankles more as we grow older. This can prevent falls — a good thing — but can make it more challenging to walk, as our muscles have to work harder. This can result in a slower pace, shorter strides and feeling tired more quickly. Work in exercises to improve balance, lower-leg strength and coordination, as it may help, according to a small study out this year in Gait & Posture.
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