Study Shows How Walking Can Slow Down Progression of Alzheimer's Disease

It is easy to justify skipping out on your daily walk this time of the year. The colder temperatures and the shorter days make it more challenging to get motivated to get in those steps. However, new research may give you a bit of motivation to lace up those sneakers.

New Study Suggests Walking Can Slow Progression of Alzheimer's Disease

The results of a recent Harvard Aging Brain Study suggest that getting between 3,000 to 5,000 steps per day slows down the development of a protein that is connected to Alzheimer's progression by about three years. This delay jumps to an average of seven years when walkers get in 5,000 to 7,000 steps per day. The benefits provided by walking plateaus when daily steps exceed 7,500.

The research was recently published in the journal Nature Medicine, offering a new incentive for walkers wanting to protect their brain health as they age. The scientists looked at 296 individuals between the ages of 50 and 90. While none of the study participants exhibited signs of cognitive impairment when the study began, some of them had elevated levels of the protein beta-amyloid. Medical experts have long thought that a buildup of amyloid is responsible for creating the network of tau proteins throughout the brain. These proteins impact the brain cells that can cause cognitive issues.