People Who Walk More Each Day Tend To Score Better On Several Brain Tests

TL;DR

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A study of 3,093 U.S. adults found that people with higher estimated daily step counts tended to score better on three of four cognitive tests. The observational findings show associations, not that walking improves cognition; researchers also found a small statistical role for systolic blood pressure in one task.

Adults with higher estimated daily step counts scored better on tests of sustained attention, cognitive control and decision-making in a study of 3,093 participants in the U.S. All of Us research program. The findings, published in Scientific Reports, show associations between activity and selected test results; because participants completed cognitive tests only once, the study cannot establish that walking more caused better performance or prevented cognitive decline.

In the study published in Scientific Reports, researchers analyzed Fitbit activity records and blood pressure data spanning 2009 to 2023, then compared estimates of participants’ activity and blood pressure with their results on four cognitive tasks. The participants were ages 18 to 93, with an average age of 58. Cognitive testing took place once, beginning in September 2023.

The researchers used four tasks to assess different abilities: the Flanker task assessed cognitive control, the Gradual Onset Continuous Performance Task (Grad-CPT) assessed sustained attention, the Delay Discounting task (DD-Task) tested decisions involving immediate versus delayed rewards, and the Multiracial Emotional Recognition task assessed facial emotion recognition. In their analysis, higher baseline physical activity was associated with better scores on the Flanker, Grad-CPT and DD-Task. The researchers found no significant association between activity and emotional-recognition scores.

The study reported that for each estimated increase of 1,000 steps per day, participants scored an average of 0.31 points higher on the Grad-CPT and 0.26 points higher on the Flanker task; they also performed better on the DD-Task. In a separate grouping based on step-count patterns, average counts were 5,108, 8,875 and 14,161 steps. Participants in the two higher-step groups scored better than those in the lowest-step group on the three associated tests. The authors described the effect sizes as small.

What Higher Step Counts Were Linked To

The results add evidence from device-recorded activity to research on movement and cognitive performance. As the study authors noted, Fitbit records can capture daily steps over a longer period than a single self-reported account, while the four tasks let researchers compare activity with several distinct kinds of performance rather than one broad measure.

Still, the findings should not be read as proof that adding steps will improve a person’s test scores. The study’s observational analysis identifies patterns across participants, not the effect of assigning people to walk more. Activity may relate to other differences between individuals, and the test results reflect a single assessment rather than a measured change in cognition over time.

The blood-pressure findings reported by the researchers were limited. Higher systolic blood pressure was associated with poorer performance on the DD-Task, but blood pressure was not significantly associated with results on the Flanker, Grad-CPT or emotional-recognition tasks after adjustment. The authors’ analysis estimated that systolic pressure statistically accounted for 4.8% of the activity–DD-Task association; the activity association remained after accounting for pressure. That statistical estimate does not show that lowering blood pressure would change cognitive performance.

How the All of Us Study Worked

According to the study’s methods, the research used participants in the All of Us program, a U.S. health research initiative. For this analysis, investigators modeled changes in physical activity, systolic blood pressure and diastolic blood pressure over time, then used participant-specific estimates to examine how those measures related to cognitive test scores. They adjusted for factors including age, education, marital status, income and country of origin.

The participant sample was not evenly representative of the U.S. population: 75% were White, 68% were female and 57% were at least 60 years old. Most had some college education or higher, and 92% were U.S.-born. These characteristics, reported by the researchers, matter when considering how far the results may apply to groups with different demographic profiles.

The study authors noted that earlier studies have often relied on self-reported activity or shorter measurement periods. Using Fitbit records over multiple years provides another way to study activity patterns, but the design still cannot establish whether activity preceded changes in cognition. In this study, cognitive performance was measured once, while the activity and blood pressure records covered a longer period.

What One-Time Testing Cannot Show

As the study design indicates, the findings do not establish whether greater physical activity led to better cognitive performance, whether people with better cognitive performance were more active, or whether other factors contributed to both. Since cognition was assessed only once, the researchers could not track whether scores improved or declined as activity changed.

Nor do the results establish that lowering systolic blood pressure improves cognition. Although the researchers reported that higher systolic pressure was linked to poorer DD-Task performance, their mediation analysis was statistical, and the estimated share was small. Changes in physical activity and blood pressure over time were not significantly associated with cognitive performance.

The published report does not provide enough detail to determine how well the findings apply beyond this participant group or whether a particular step target would produce a measurable cognitive benefit. The authors noted that differences in study methods and strict statistical criteria may help explain why some blood-pressure associations seen in earlier research did not appear across these tests.

Further Research on Activity and Cognition

The study findings point to a need for research that measures cognitive performance repeatedly, alongside activity and blood pressure, to test whether changes in one track with changes in another. As the authors’ results come from a sample with limited demographic representation, studies with a broader participant mix could also help determine whether the associations are similar across age, racial and socioeconomic groups.

For now, the report supports a cautious conclusion: higher recorded activity was linked with better performance on three tasks in this sample, while the study does not show that walking more prevents cognitive decline or that reducing blood pressure improves scores. No specific step prescription or clinical recommendation follows from these results alone.

Key Questions

Did the study prove that walking more improves brain function?

No. The Scientific Reports study found an association between estimated daily steps and scores on three tasks. Its observational design and one-time cognitive testing cannot establish cause and effect.

Which cognitive tests were associated with higher activity?

In the researchers’ analysis, higher baseline activity was associated with better results on the Flanker, Grad-CPT and Delay Discounting tasks. They found no significant activity association with the emotional-recognition task.

Did blood pressure explain the activity findings?

The researchers found that higher systolic blood pressure was associated with poorer performance on the Delay Discounting task. Their analysis estimated that it accounted statistically for 4.8% of the activity association with that task; this does not show that lowering blood pressure would improve cognition.

How many steps should someone walk based on this study?

The study did not establish a step target or test a walking prescription. Its step-count results describe associations in the participants and should not be treated as a personal health recommendation.

Source: rss