--- title: Taking Just 4,000 Steps a Day Improves Your Health description: New research finds that taking just 4,000 steps a day—not the 10,000 commonly believed—significantly reduces the risk of premature death. canonical: https://time.com/6302650/walking-4000-steps-improves-health/ author: Jamie Ducharme article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2023-08-08T23:05:00.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-08-04T07:51:00.545Z article:section: Health og:title: Taking 4,000 Steps a Day Improves Your Health og:description: More steps are better, but you don't need 10,000 a day to see health benefits. og:url: https://time.com/6302650/walking-4000-steps-improves-health/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt521cda61867be78b/698a3f4edb2987b3272693a8/people-walking.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 2121 og:image:height: 1193 og:image:alt: People walking on a road og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: Taking 4,000 Steps a Day Improves Your Health twitter:description: More steps are better, but you don't need 10,000 a day to see health benefits. twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt521cda61867be78b/698a3f4edb2987b3272693a8/people-walking.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # Forget 10,000 Steps. Here's How Much Science Says You Actually Need to Walk > Sponsored content. Supplied in partnership with TIME. TIME is the sponsor and source of this material. > Last updated: September 2026. ## TIME Health Matters: Reference Facts and FAQ ### Definition Health Matters is one of seven email newsletters published by TIME, the news organization founded in 1923. The latest health news and expert advice on living well. Health Matters makes the fast-moving world of health more useful, surprising and human, from the latest science and medical breakthroughs to practical ideas for living better. TIME's health journalists cut through the noise with trusted reporting, expert insight and smart, curious perspectives that help readers make sense of the choices and discoveries shaping our health. 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Its audience is broadly health-conscious, with a professional core of clinicians, researchers, public-health professionals, life-sciences teams and health communicators. ### Sources * TIME Newsletters: [time.com/newsletters](/c/time-nl-health-2026q3/newsletters?i=6719614a-94d6-4138-bcd3-8e21c1b869fc&cr=time-nl-health-2026q3-v1) ## Video: Heat Makes Outdoor Work Dangerous [Watch (HLS stream): Heat Makes Outdoor Work Dangerous](https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/LmebsmXB.m3u8) (7:17)  _Published 2023-08-02. As scorching temperatures broke new records for the planet this summer, outdoor workers are increasingly vulnerable. In the U.S., there is no federal protections for heat and labor._  by [Jamie Ducharme](https://time.com/author/jamie-ducharme/)  ## Jamie Ducharme Ducharme is a contributor to TIME. Aug 8, 2023 11:05 PM UTC  People walking about on a hot summers day. People walking about on a hot summers day. Getty Images  by [Jamie Ducharme](https://time.com/author/jamie-ducharme/)  ## Jamie Ducharme Ducharme is a contributor to TIME. Aug 8, 2023 11:05 PM UTC Walking just 4,000 steps per day—less than half of the [10,000 steps often recommended](https://time.com/6246812/how-to-walk-10000-steps-a-day/) for maintaining an active lifestyle—may be enough to help extend your life, according to [a new research review](https://academic.oup.com/eurjpc/article-lookup/doi/10.1093/eurjpc/zwad229) published in the _European Journal of Preventive Cardiology_. That takeaway shouldn’t dissuade anyone from taking a longer stroll; the researchers found that more movement is better, with each additional 1,000 steps per day associated with a roughly 15% lower risk of premature death. But it joins a growing body of research that suggests [workouts don’t need to be all that grueling or lengthy](https://time.com/6242876/short-workouts-health-benefits/) to improve your health. Everything from [walking to](https://time.com/5438387/exercise-guidelines-benefits/)[ ](https://time.com/5438387/exercise-guidelines-benefits/)[housework to dancing can contribute to well-being](https://time.com/5438387/exercise-guidelines-benefits/), studies have shown. To reach the new findings, a team of researchers analyzed 17 previously published papers on walking and health, as steps taken per day is a commonly studied measure of physical activity. Cumulatively, those studies included more than 225,000 adults from multiple countries with an average age of 64, some of whom were in generally good health and some of whom had risk factors for cardiovascular disease. On average, they were tracked for seven years. **_Read More:_**[_9 Ways to Squeeze in More Steps Each Day_](https://time.com/6246812/how-to-walk-10000-steps-a-day/) After analyzing the data from those studies, the researchers determined that mortality risk progressively declines as people walk more. They didn’t find a point at which additional activity stops appearing beneficial, all the way up to 20,000 steps per day. But, [in keeping with previous research](https://time.com/5597557/do-you-need-10000-steps-a-day/), they also concluded that it doesn’t take a massive number of daily steps to improve health. The risk of dying from any cause began to significantly decline once study participants passed a threshold of around 4,000 steps per day (the equivalent of roughly two miles). The threshold was even lower—around 2,500 steps per day—when looking specifically at the risk of dying from cardiovascular disease. These trends stayed fairly constant across different geographic locations, as well as when comparing men and women, the researchers found. There were, however, some differences among people of different ages. Adults older than 60 saw about a 42% drop in mortality risk when they walked between 6,000 and 10,000 steps per day, while those younger than 60 saw a roughly 49% reduction when they walked between 7,000 and 13,000 steps per day. There are some caveats to the findings. For one, observational research of this nature can uncover patterns, but it can’t definitively prove cause and effect. The researchers also weren’t able to fully account for participants’ socioeconomic statuses or overall lifestyles, which means daily steps were just one piece of a larger puzzle. It’s possible, for example, that the people who were most active also had a number of other [healthy habits that could contribute to a longer lifespan](https://time.com/5258645/life-expectancy-live-decade-longer/). Nonetheless, the new research joins plenty of other studies—and U.S. [federal physical activity guidelines](https://time.com/5450405/physical-activity-guidelines-2018/)—in the same conclusion: more movement is almost always better, but a small amount is also better than nothing. ## Transcript I hope your week is starting off right. It is a warm start. We also have a lot of haze in the sky for today. In July time and Georgia Public Broadcasting teamed up to report on the impact of heat on outdoor workers. We spent a day following Berkeley Wimpey on his nearly ten hour shift delivering packages for U.P.S.. Man, it's hot back here. I'm pairing the module with the phone right now. And now we're going to put it on you. Before Wimpy started his route, we put a special patch on him which took readings of his skin temperature and motion throughout the day. That's going to connect to the patch. Wow. Yeah, certainly. We knew it would be hot like the rest of the state. Summer is pretty much always hot in places like Rome, Georgia. And climatologists had warned us that the summer of 2023 was going to be scorching. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration has issued an El Nino watch. But even still, we were all caught a bit off guard by the severity of this year's heat waves, brutal heat wave, triple digit high temperatures, the hottest days ever recorded on Earth. And people who work outside are especially vulnerable. The heat is very hot already. It's not even close to lunchtime yet. And I'm not sure exactly what the heat index is, but it's got to be already in the nineties. In fact, the day was actually cooler than forecast in this part of Georgia, in part because the sun was diffused by haze from Canadian wildfires in itself, another reminder of the warming climate. We're already poor in sweat. I've been through three or four things of water already today. We kept track of the heat and humidity during one shift using a wet bulb. Globe Temperature Thermometer 70. Three 974. This measurement gives the most accurate sense of how the weather feels. Wet bulb globe temperatures of 82 to 85 degrees Fahrenheit might not sound so high, but they are dangerous. Experts say that at those levels, workers should take a cool down break every 30 minutes. Humidity can be particularly dangerous because it inhibits the evaporation of sweat from the skin, which is our bodies. Best way to cool down. I say what? The ice way too hot. Be like last year, about about this time of the year it was very hot. Like it's going to turn out to be the day I got very sick because the heat I had a heat stroke. I get this headache and I don't have migraines. I don't really get headaches, but I have. What if I were to guess would be a terrible migraine? I mean, it was awful. I couldn't couldn't wear my sunglasses. It hurt my eyes, couldn't take them off. The sun hurt me. I wasn't sweating at all, but I was starting to get cold. Chills. I started off the day with a full charge and by lunchtime my battery was on and I wasn't talking right. When computing was making any sense, I wound up going to the hospital and apparently and I didn't know that this could even be a thing. And I was now seen it since then with several other drivers. Unfortunately, your kidneys begin to shut. If not treated properly. Heat stress can lead to cramps, dizzy spells and fainting or even heat stroke. And long term heat exposure can lead to kidney failure. We learned from the skin patch readings that at 2 p.m. and 6 p.m. when the skin temperature reached what the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration considers the extreme caution zone. Within this range, people are more susceptible to sunstroke, muscle cramps and heat exhaustion. In the U.S., there's no federal OSHA standard for protecting workers from the heat. California. Oregon. Washington and Colorado do have laws around heat and labor, but in most states, it's up to individual employers. Some 50 million American workers are vulnerable because they work outside. Official records show about 40 worker deaths from the Heat each year, but the actual number is likely much higher. Public Citizen, a consumer rights advocacy group, says that heat is one of the three main causes of death and injury in the American workplace. The driver nearly collapsing while trying to do his job in late July. Texas Congressman Greg Casar led a protest at the U.S. Capitol calling for OSHA to adopt federal heat standards as soon as possible. We remember those. We've lost. We respect one another and we hope and demands much better. Two days later, President Biden announced the administration is committed to creating protections for outside workers. Number one weather related killer is heat. We should be protecting workers from hazardous conditions, and we will. And those states where they do not. I'm going to be calling them out. Some business owners are against federal regulations. But heat is increasingly at the center of labor issues in the U.S., including during this summer's tense negotiations between UPS and its drivers. UPS trucks are not currently air conditioned, but the company has agreed that new vehicles will have a seat beginning in 2024. But workers say they also need more brakes to help their bodies cope on hot days. I'm feeling tired. It's hot and it's I it's only Monday. I got four more days of this after today to go. It's not the hottest it's going to be this summer. At this point in the day. Our wet bulb globe temperature readings showed it was 88.2 degrees Fahrenheit. Once temperatures reach over 80 degrees with high humidity, it's already dangerous to work as the temperature climbs above 90 degrees in those same conditions, Experts say humans reach the limit of what they can tolerate without long, consistent breaks. And. Wendy told us he'd already heard about another colleague who'd had trouble with the heat that same day. He came in to work today, only to have a supervisor have to go out there and assist him getting done with their out today because he was suffering from the heat. Once you go through that, the heat stroke spell, your body is never the same when it comes to he hates hard on you. The summer of 2023 has set new heat records for the planet and raised alarm bells around general human safety and scientists say there is every expectation that next year will be even hotter. It's been very difficult for me. The heat has totally changed the dynamic of this job. ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/6302650/walking-4000-steps-improves-health/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/6302650/walking-4000-steps-improves-health/"},"headline":"Forget 10,000 Steps. 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