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Walk More, Think Better: Study Links Steps to Cognition
19 Oct
Summary
- More daily steps correlate with better attention and decision-making skills.
- Wearable devices provided objective activity data over 14 years.
- Cognitive benefits were observed across multiple domains tested.
A recent study examining 14 years of data from 3,093 US adults reveals a connection between daily step counts and cognitive performance. Researchers utilized objective activity records from wearable devices, unlike previous studies relying on self-reporting. Participants were grouped by average daily steps, with those taking more steps generally showing better results on cognitive assessments.
The study found that individuals in more active groups scored higher on tasks measuring sustained attention and the ability to ignore distractions. These cognitive improvements, though modest, could have practical implications for everyday life, such as maintaining focus at work or making less impulsive decisions. Blood pressure also showed a link, with higher systolic pressure associated with slightly poorer performance on a reward-choice task.
While the findings support an association between physical activity and cognitive function, the research was observational and cannot establish causality. Further research with repeated cognitive assessments could explore whether sustained activity is linked to changes in cognitive skills over time.
