In this age of biohacking and taking wellness habits to the extreme, it’s easy to overlook the small, daily habits that keep us healthy. But those habits are often the most powerful.
One example: Drinking a glass of water after you wake up in the morning. This simple habit rehydrates the gut lining and kickstarts digestion. It also supports memory, concentration and mood—even more than coffee.
Another simple habit that’s particularly important for brain health is consistently getting enough sleep. “This may be the most underappreciated [habit],” Dr. Prerna Malla, MBBS, MD, a neurologist with MedStar Health, tells Parade. During deep sleep, the brain activates a waste-clearance system that literally flushes out amyloid and tau, which are both associated with Alzheimer’s.
“Chronic poor sleep accelerates toxic protein buildup. Seven to eight hours of quality sleep is not a luxury; it is biological maintenance for the brain,” Dr. Malla says.
Related: Scientists Reveal How Long Your Daily Walk Should Be to Significantly Lower Heart Disease Risk
Another simple habit that many people underestimate is walking. Walking not only lowers the risk of heart disease, it lowers the risk of Alzheimer’s. In fact, a 2025 study pinpointed the daily step count associated with delaying Alzheimer’s by seven years—that’s pretty major!
Parade talked to neurologists about the study and why walking is so powerful for brain health. Want to know how many daily steps to aim for? Keep reading to find out.
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In the study, published in Nature Medicine, researchers found that walking between 3,000 and 5,000 steps a day delayed cognitive decline by an average of three years. They also found that walking between 5,000 and 7,500 steps a day delayed cognitive decline by seven years.
“This study offers some of the clearest evidence yet that regular walking can meaningfully slow the progression of Alzheimer's disease and points to a specific biological reason,” Dr. Malla tells Parade, explaining that the brain is like a network of pipes that need to stay clean and clear.
Over time, toxic proteins, amyloid and tau, can build up, gradually clogging them and disrupting the communication between brain cells. “This is what happens in Alzheimer's disease. What this study reveals is that regular walking appears to help keep those pipes flowing," she adds.
Related: These 6 Simple Lifestyle Tweaks Can Lower Dementia Risk by 18%
Dr. Malla explains that walking increases blood flow to the brain, which helps flush out debris before it has a chance to accumulate. She says that walking also reduces inflammation and triggers the release of protective brain chemicals that essentially act as a “maintenance crew,” keeping the pipes in better shape from the inside.
As the study shows, a higher daily step count increases the benefits. With this in mind, you may wonder if running is more beneficial for brain health than walking. After all, the faster you go, the more steps you can get in. Dr. Rong Zhang, PhD, a UT Southwestern neurologist who researches how exercise affects the heart, brain and aging, says that walking and running are both beneficial.
“Effects of running versus walking on the brain may be influenced by age. For instance, running at high intensity may be more beneficial to younger or middle-aged people. Walking, a relatively low intensity of exercise, may be more suitable for older adults to maintain brain health,” he says. In both cases, there is increased blood flow to the brain, which is why both are beneficial. So if you enjoy walking more than running, stick with that; your brain will certainly benefit.
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Can People With Alzheimer’s Benefit From Walking?
It’s certainly encouraging to see a link between walking and slowed cognitive decline, but you may be curious if people who already have Alzheimer’s can benefit. According to both neurologists we talked to, they absolutely can.
“The study suggests that individuals with high amyloid in the brain, a hallmark of Alzheimer's disease, still can benefit from daily walking. However, randomized trials are needed to demonstrate this observation,” Dr. Zhang says.
Dr. Malla adds to this, sharing, “This is one of the most important messages I emphasize to patients and families. While this study focused on people before symptoms appeared, a substantial body of research supports the benefits of regular walking even after an Alzheimer's diagnosis."
Scientific research has shown that exercise, especially walking, is beneficial for people with mild-to-moderate Alzheimer's disease. “A randomized controlled trial published in the Journal of Alzheimer's Disease found that a six-month aerobic exercise intervention significantly reduced the decline in global cognition in comparison to Alzheimer's natural course of decline,” Dr. Malla says.
Beyond helping with cognition, walking can help people with Alzheimer’s by reducing depression and anxiety. These effects are even more pronounced if someone with Alzheimer’s is walking with another person. “Walking with conversation has a better effect than walking alone in people with Alzheimer's, because the social effect of exercise is particularly important for this population,” she explains.
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Walking isn’t the only form of physical exercise that supports brain health. Both neurologists say that anything that gets you moving is beneficial because it increases blood flow to the brain.
“Find a hobby or sport for which you have a passion. It can be anything that you would enjoy doing daily that gets you moving, such as hiking or gardening. The key is to treat exercise or physical activity like your daily hygiene,” Dr. Zhang says, adding that other forms of exercise, such as swimming, cycling, dancing, gardening and even doing house chores can help reduce the risk of dementia.
For senior adults, tai chi and yoga can be especially beneficial. “They combine gentle movement, balance training, breathing and mindfulness, and there is growing evidence they reduce stress hormones like cortisol, which in chronic excess can be directly damaging to the hippocampus, the brain's memory center,” Dr. Malla says.
Besides physical activity, Dr. Malla notes that maintaining a healthy diet, consistently getting enough sleep, engaging socially with others and continuing to find ways to challenge your brain are all other ways to support brain health as you age.
And if you are experiencing hearing loss, seeking treatment is also important for brain health. “Untreated hearing loss in midlife is now one of the top modifiable risk factors for dementia. When the brain is straining to process sound, it diverts resources away from other cognitive functions. Treating hearing loss with hearing aids has been shown to meaningfully reduce cognitive decline in at-risk individuals,” Dr. Malla explains.
As you can see, there are many ways to support your brain health as you age. Incorporating a daily walk into your routine just might be the most powerful action you can take in protecting your cognition.
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Sources
Dr. Prerna Malla, MBBS, MD, neurologist with MedStar Health.Wendy Yau, W. Y., Kirn, D. R., Rabin, J. S., et al. (2025). Physical activity as a modifiable risk factor in preclinical Alzheimer’s Disease.Nature Medicine. 31:4075-4083. Dr. Rong Zhang, PhD, UT Southwestern neurologist who researches how exercise affects heart, brain and aging. Dr. Zhang directs the cerebrovascular laboratory at the Institute for Exercise and Environmental Medicine, a collaboration between UT Southwestern and Texas Health Presbyterian Hospital Dallas.Yu, F., Vock, D. M., Wyman, J. F. (2021). Cognitive Effects of Aerobic Exercise in Alzheimer’s Disease: A Pilot Randomized Controlled Trial.Journal of Alzheimer’s Disease. doi.org/10.3233/JAD-20110.Hence then, the article about scientists reveal the daily step count that may delay alzheimer s by 7 years was published today ( ) and is available on Parade ( Saudi Arabia ) The editorial team at PressBee has edited and verified it, and it may have been modified, fully republished, or quoted. You can read and follow the updates of this news or article from its original source.
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