Setting a challenge of 15,000 steps a day for a week was tough, but I was pleased with the results when I completed it. So I decided to ramp it up and set a new goal for myself: walk 30,000 steps daily for two weeks.
Getting in enough steps can be challenging, but I found it feasible by breaking it down into smaller blocks, like taking short walks during work breaks or between calls.
My average daily step count was around 12,000, so I had to make a conscious effort to increase this number. Adding a few runs also boosted my step count, though that’s not necessarily the best way to achieve more steps.
Walking an average of 30,000 steps a day seems unrealistic for someone with a busy daily life. And studies I read suggested that an average increase of just 2,500 steps a day yields benefits. However, I chose to push the limits to observe any physiological changes.
Left, Jade Alvares, who challenged herself to walk 30,000 steps a day for two weeks. She says it improved her sleep. Right, a stock image of a woman walking.
Jade Alvares/Iuliia Pilipeichenko
My daily step count varied quite widely during the two weeks. The data revealed fluctuations in my walking routine; some days I walked more than 30,000 steps, and some fewer. On some, I exceeded 40,000 steps; on others, I managed around 17,000.
On average, I almost made it. The first week averaged at 29,600 steps a day and the second week was 29,466. To address this shortfall, I significantly increased my walking on the fifteenth day, bringing my average up.
There are a lot of well-known scientifically endorsed benefits to walking, such as improved stress levels and cardiovascular health, and the release of endorphins. But there are some less well-known advantages too, such as improved sleep quality through exposure to morning sunlight, inspiration for which I took from the neuroscientist Andrew Huberman.
What better way to get sunlight than a morning walk?
There are many reasons I walk. But one of my biggest is managing sleep difficulties; I find it very hard to sleep, and going for walks really helps me.
A recent Hungarian study demonstrated significant improvements in sleep quality among individuals who increased their daily steps.
It took two groups of sedentary people ages 19 to 36. Half of them were instructed to walk 8,000 to 10,000 steps per day for four weeks and then report back on issues relating to sleep; the other group changed nothing about their activity or habits.
By the end of the study, it was clear that walking improved all aspects of sleep quality.
One of the most obvious reasons why increasing the frequency of walks can positively impact your sleep is physical tiredness,
