How many steps should I walk per day to stay healthy? This video will summarize the major health benefits of daily walking and how many steps you need to maximize those effects. Benefits include improved mortality, decreased cardiovascular risk, improved cognition, better immune response, and more robust mental health.

Physical activity is crucial to living a healthy lifestyle. It improves our heart and lung function. It lowers our cholesterol and blood sugar. It increases metabolism to help us lose weight. It improves our sleep and mental health. And it helps us learn and concentrate. Daily step counts are an easy indirect measure of physical activity. Increased step counts have been shown to decrease mortality and decrease cardiovascular risk. More daily steps help with cognition especially with better attention, executive function, language, and memory. Increased daily walking helps boost our immune system and prevent dying from serious infections such as pneumonia. More step counts also improve mental health and decrease stress, anxiety, and depression.