Ways to Increase Your Daily Steps

We’ve all heard that we should walk 10,000 steps per day. While some may welcome this challenge, others may feel like it’s an impossible task.

Across more than 110 countries, on average, people take fewer than 5,000 steps per day. However, there is a significant country-level — and even city-level — variation in average steps per day, with people in countries such as Hong Kong, China, the U.K., France and Germany taking an average of more than 5,000 steps per day, and people in France, Australia, Canada, the U.S., India and Indonesia taking an average of fewer than 5,000 steps per day. The number of steps you take per day is also likely dependent on your work arrangements, lifestyle, transportation options and personal obligations.

While getting your steps in is certainly good for your health, the latest research shows that the gold standard of achieving 10,000 steps per day may not be necessary for maintaining a healthy lifestyle and increasing one’s longevity.

In a 2019 study conducted by Harvard Medical School, researchers found that averaging between 4,400 and 7,500 steps per day led to lower mortality rates in older women in the U.S. Another U.S. study of adult men and women discovered that attaining 8,000 steps per day, compared to 4,000 steps per day, led to a 51% lower rate of mortality — and a 65% lower rate of mortality when 12,000 daily steps were achieved.

Based on these recent studies, it’s good practice to average between 4,400 and 12,000 steps per day, regardless of your age, gender or ethnicity. In addition to helping you live longer, increased activity of any intensity can help you feel better mentally and physically and enjoy a higher quality of life.

Try some of the following combinations of activities to monitor and increase your steps each day. If you’re not motivated by counting your steps each day,  just focus on increasing your daily physical activity — either by walking more or by participating in the activities below.