Walking Into Fall: What the Research Says About Heart Health, Mental Health and Longevity
A woman walking in Portugese Bend
As fall approaches, the South Bay offers plenty of opportunities to spend more time walking outdoors. Beyond being a simple way to stay active, a growing body of research continues to connect regular walking with cardiovascular health, mental well-being and longevity.
Walking and Cardiovascular Health
Walking is aerobic exercise. At a brisk pace, it increases heart rate, circulation and oxygen demand, and regular aerobic activity can contribute to improvements in cardiorespiratory fitness, blood pressure, vascular function and glucose metabolism.
The American Heart Association recommends at least 150 minutes of moderate-intensity aerobic activity per week, and brisk walking is one way to reach that goal.
Research also suggests that benefits don't depend on reaching the often-cited 10,000 steps per day. A large study published in JAMA found a dose-response relationship between daily steps and mortality. Compared with approximately 4,000 steps per day, higher step counts were associated with progressively lower rates of all-cause and cardiovascular mortality.
A 2023 JAMA Network Open study offered another encouraging finding: adults who reached 8,000 steps on just one or two days per week still had lower 10-year all-cause and cardiovascular mortality than people who did not reach that level on any days. While these observational studies cannot prove cause and effect, they add to evidence that increasing activity can be beneficial even when it isn't done every day.
Walking and Mental Health
The evidence extends beyond cardiovascular health. A 2024 systematic review and meta-analysis in JAMA Network Open examined 33 studies involving more than 96,000 adults. Higher daily step counts were associated with fewer depressive symptoms, and prospective studies found that each additional 1,000 steps per day was associated with approximately a 9% lower risk of depression.
A separate 2024 systematic review in The BMJ, which included 218 studies and more than 14,000 participants with depression, found that walking or jogging was associated with a moderate reduction in depressive symptoms compared with active control conditions.
Spending some of that walking time outdoors may offer additional benefits. Research into green-space exposure has found associations with lower risks of depression and anxiety, although environmental and socioeconomic factors make this relationship complex.
Take Your Walk Outside
Fortunately, there are many ways to put this research into practice close to home:
The Strand: Walk along the beach through Manhattan Beach, Hermosa Beach or Redondo Beach. The relatively flat route makes it easy to adjust intensity simply by changing your pace.
Manhattan Beach Pier to Hermosa Beach Pier: The piers are approximately two miles apart, making the round trip about four miles.
Portuguese Bend Reserve: The hills and trails of Palos Verdes add elevation and can provide a more vigorous cardiovascular workout. Check current trail conditions with the City of Rancho Palos Verdes before heading out.
Ocean Trails Reserve: Coastal trails, varied terrain and Pacific views offer an alternative to a flat beach walk.
Palos Verdes Nature Preserve: Abalone Cove, Alta Vicente, Forrestal and Vicente Bluffs are among several additional areas where distance, elevation and terrain can be varied.
How Much Is Enough?
There isn't one ideal number of steps or one walking pace that applies to everyone. The research increasingly supports a dose-response relationship: moving from very little activity to more activity matters, even before reaching a specific exercise or step target.
For moderate-intensity exercise, the "talk test" is a useful guide. Your breathing and heart rate should increase, but you should generally still be able to carry on a conversation.
Whether it's 30 minutes on The Strand, a weekend hike in Palos Verdes or simply adding another 1,000 steps to your day, walking is a remarkably accessible way to support cardiovascular and mental health as we head into fall.
Patients with cardiovascular disease, significant orthopedic or balance concerns, or symptoms such as chest discomfort or unusual shortness of breath with exertion should speak with their physician before significantly increasing exercise.
Sources: American Heart Association; JAMA; JAMA Network Open; The BMJ; Nature Mental Health.