The Benefits of Walking: How Many Steps Do You Really Need?

Life can get crazy busy, and sometimes it can be tricky to get in the movement we need for optimal health. A super easy way to move your body is through walking—taking steps throughout the day. One of my goals is to average 9,000 steps per day every week. And even with how crazy busy life can get some weeks, this goal has been doable, and I’ve learned some pretty creative ways to get in my steps.

Helpful hint: Set a weekly steps goal, not a daily steps goal. Why? Real life will happen, so some days you won’t hit your goal. But, you can make up steps throughout the week so you can still achieve that goal.

Walking can be a great form of exercise, and one of the amazing things about walking is that it can be done almost anywhere: Inside your house, in your neighborhood, on a treadmill, on a local trail, at the park, in the mall, at the grocery store, and so on. And since the temps are getting cooler, it’s an even better time of year to get in some steps!

What are the Health Benefits of Walking?

Walking offers some amazing benefits, both physically and mentally, and both are important for that optimal health we all want. Let’s start with some of the physical benefits from walking:

Improve cardiovascular fitness. Think walking isn’t a good form of exercise? Think again. The American Heart Association recommends adults get at least 150 minutes a week of moderate intensity aerobic activity, and walking totally counts! In fact, one study found that walking just 21 minutes a day can reduce your risk of heart disease by 30%!
Protect and strengthen your joints and bones. Since walking is low impact, it adds very little stress to those joints and bones, and it can also be a great form of movement when you’re recovering from a surgery or injury. (Please talk with your healthcare team first to make sure walking is the right post-surgery or post-recovery option for you). Walking can help lubricate your joints too.
Maintain a healthy body weight
Reduce cravings. Harvard Health found that a 15-minute walk can cut a chocolate craving in half, and this works for other sugary cravings too. Walking might just keep your mind off those cravings as well.
Increased energy levels
Improved sleep
Manage and even reduce the risk of stroke, heart disease, cancer, and high cholesterol
Boost your immunity. Science has discovered that walking 20 minutes a day, 5 days a week led to a 43% decreased number of sick days, and when these walkers did get sick, they recovered faster and their symptoms were milder.
Better balance and coordination
Increased muscle endurance and stronger muscles
Relieve pain from arthritis. Research found that walking 5-6 miles a day (10K-13K steps, on average) can help reduce your risk of arthritis in the first place. If walking 5-6 miles at once feels daunting, break up those steps throughout the day.
Lower blood pressure

If “lose weight” is a goal, walking can help you lose that unwanted body fat because steps burn calories. You might’ve heard of NEAT (Non-Exercise Activity Thermogenesis ), and NEAT is the number of calories you burn through daily movement outside of your “formal” workouts, eating, and sleeping. In fact, you can actually burn more calories through NEAT than during your workouts. NEAT calories are easy to build up through activities like standing, fidgeting, taking the stairs, cleaning + other household chores, and…getting in more steps.

The Mental Health Benefits of Walking

While the physical benefits of walking are so important, it can take some time to recognize them. But you can feel the mental benefits during and after your first walk and during and after every single walk. That’s why I love all the mental benefits you can get from walking. Check these out:

Relieves stress
Increases your energy and stamina
Can help reduce depression. A study¹ from Duke University found that walking can be an effective treatment for major depression in some patients.
Increases your mental alertness due to better sleep
Improves your mood, cognition, and memory
Improves your creative thinking. I’m all about this one since creativity is my work. Studies back this up: Stanford University found that “walking boosts creative thinking by an average of 60 percent and this inspiration lasts once you sit down.”

Let’s dive deeper into that last benefit. Several famous people who have contributed to our world in some very important ways were walkers:

Charles Darwin is said to have taken three 45-minute walks every day for most of his life.
Ludwig Van Beethoven took short walking breaks during the day and a longer walk every afternoon, using paper and pen on his walks to record the inspirations he received.
William Wordsworth is said to have walked 175,000 miles in his lifetime, often using this time to compose and revise his poetry.
Steve Jobs believed he got his most creative ideas while walking and often held “walking” meetings with this staff.

And here are some quotes from some other famous walkers about walking:

J.K. Rowling: “Nothing like a nighttime stroll to give you ideas.”
Charles Dickens: “It is not easy to walk alone in the country without musing upon something.”
Charles Dickens again: “The sum of the whole is this: walk and be happy, walk and be healthy.”
Henry David Thoreau: “Me thinks that the moment my legs begin to move, my thoughts begin to flow.”
Henry David Thoreau again: “I took a walk in the woods and came out taller than the trees.”
Virginia Woolf: “To walk alone in London is the greatest rest.”
Hippocrates: “Walking is man’s best medicine.”

How Many Steps a Day Do You Really Need?

We’ve been hearing for years that 10,000 steps a day is the magic number. But is this true? While 10,000 steps can definitely help you enjoy all those incredible benefits of walking, research has found that a goal of at least 8,200 steps a day reduces your risk of high blood pressure, diabetes, obesity, and sleep apnea. Another study found that 7,000 steps a day can increase longevity and the health benefits outlined above.

According to UCLA Health, the average adult takes between 4,000-5,000 steps per day, anything less than 4,000 steps per day is considered to be low activity, and less than 2,000 steps per day is considered sedentary or inactive. So, any steps you can take above that 4K number can help you achieve your health and fitness goals.

10 simple ways to get more steps every day

How can you incorporate more walking into your life? It’s probably easier to accomplish than you think.

Tip #1. Get some shoes. In order to make your walks as enjoyable as possible, it’s important to wear the right shoes for your feet. This is crucial for running, but it’s just as important for walking, so head to a specialty running store to find the best fit for your feet! Learn more about how to find walking shoes here.

Tip #2. Step it up. In order to get the cardio benefits of walking, you’ll need to keep a good pace. Here’s an easy way to gauge your pace: If you can talk a bit breathily but not sing, you’ve found your pace!

Tip #3. Aim for time, not steps. While it can be fun and beneficial to track steps, aim to track the minutes you spend walking. No pedometer or step counter needed! Helpful hint: A “normal” pace (3 MPH) is 1,000 steps and takes about 8-10 minutes.

Tip #4. Watch or listen to something. When I’m walking on the treadmill, I’ll often save a favorite show to watch while I walk. I’ll even walk in place (making sure to swing my arms and raise my knees) while watching a show or movie in our family room. If you have a difficult time making time for walking, only listen to a favorite podcast or audio book or watch a favorite show when you’re walking. It’s a built-in motivator and reward at the same time!

Tip #5. Try going tech-free. Since walking can be prime thinking and problem solving time, try unplugging while you’re walking. To be honest, I struggle with this one, but it’s a goal to do more tech-free walking time.

Tip #6. Learn while you walk. Listen to audio books or podcasts or watch an educational program.

Tip #7. Keep in touch with friends and family. It’s easy to plug in your headphones or air pods and talk with others while you’re getting in your walk.

Tip #8. Walk with a buddy. Any form of exercise is more fun with a friend, so invite someone else to join you on your walk. I love to meet a friend at a local trail and get in some steps and some awesome conversation.

Tip #9. Break it up. If you don’t have time for a longer walk, fit several shorter walks into your day. Any minutes spent walking count toward your daily goal.

Tip #10. Just walk. While walking outside does offer some added mental benefits, walking—wherever or whenever you can do it— counts. Walk around your house, hit the local mall, park farther away in the parking lot, walk in place while watching a show like I do, walk around the grocery store…just walk.

Walking can be an easy and beneficial form of exercise, and the mental and physical benefits are an important reason to add more steps into your life. Which tip will you try out first? Let me know in a comment below.

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