You don’t need to hear it from a doctor to know that walking is good for you. A daily stroll around the neighborhood can boost your energy levels, promote (and help maintain) weight loss, lead to better sleep, and help prevent other chronic illnesses, including cardiovascular disease. But walking can also improve your mental health. Researchers now say that increasing your daily step count can reduce your risk of developing depression—and feeling depression-like symptoms.
RELATED: A Daily Walk Could Add 11 Years to Your Life—If You Do It for This Long.
"Modest levels" of walking benefit your mental health.
A new research paper published in the Journal of the American Medical Association asks the question: Are objectively measured daily steps associated with depression in adulthood? It turns out that lacing up your sneakers can help reduce your risk of developing depression, according to the findings.
“The results of our meta-analysis indicated that increasing the number of daily steps, even at modest levels, was associated with a reduction in depressive symptoms,” the researchers wrote.
Walking 5,000+ steps per day is linked to "reduced depressive symptoms."
For their research paper, experts analyzed fitness-tracking data and mental health data from 33 peer-reviewed studies involving 96,173 adults. In the studies, participants were categorized into two groups: diagnosed depression or self-reported feelings of depression (this group didn’t receive formal diagnoses). Fitness was relative to total daily steps, which were measured via pedometers, smartphones, or other wearable devices.
As for the new research, experts set out to “synthesize the associations between objectively measured daily step counts and depression” among adults. They quickly noticed a big difference in depression symptoms among adults who logged at least 5,000 daily steps.
Those who achieved 6,000 daily steps experienced a nine percent reduction in depression symptoms, and it only keeps getting better! Hitting 7,000 steps per day can decrease your chances of developing depression by 31 percent, researchers found.
Individuals who mastered 7,500 daily step counts had a 43 percent lower chance of developing depression. And this was found across all age groups, including men and women.
RELATED: 6 Best Walking Workouts for Weight Loss.
Going for a run or signing up for a gym membership doesn’t have to be the answer, either.
The term “exercise” is often associated with places like the gym, fitness class, or running track. But this study proves that exercising can be as simple as going for a walk in your neighborhood.
“You don’t need to start running or even walking marathons to feel better,” David Merrill, MD, PhD, a geriatric psychiatrist in Santa Monica, CA, told Heathline.
Merrill, who wasn’t involved in the study, said all it takes is “a little more movement [to] make a big difference” in your mood. Plus, walking doesn’t cost you a thing!
“The accessibility of walking is particularly important: it does not require specialized equipment, a gym membership, or extensive fitness knowledge, making it an inclusive intervention that anyone can adopt into their routine,” Supatra Tovar, PsyD, a clinical psychologist, registered dietitian, and fitness expert, told Healthline. “This simplicity removes barriers that often prevent people from pursuing physical activity, especially those struggling with the low motivation and fatigue often associated with depression.”
The takeaway.
An initial daily step count goal of 5,000 steps can boost your mental health and reintroduce you to the world of exercising. "Setting goals for the number of daily steps may be a promising and inclusive public health strategy for the prevention of depression," wrote the study authors.
That said, professional mental health professionals and services are also available. ”Combining lifestyle medicine approaches like increasing walking with behavioral health approaches like antidepressants and psychotherapy may result in the best outcomes for persons living with depression,” noted Merrill.
