Walking has many proven benefits — it can improve cardiovascular health, reduce the risk of heart attack, and even boost brain health. However, the question remains, how much walking do you need to do to get those rewards? If your main goal is to avoid mental decline, there is finally an answer. According to a recent study published in JAMA, you need to take 3,800 to 9,800 steps a day to reduce your risk of dementia.

The researchers used a UK Biobank population-based cohort study conducted between 2013 and 2015 to obtain their findings. In total, 78,430 adults aged 40 to 79 were included in the study. Each participant had to wear an accelerator on their wrist, which allowed the researchers to calculate how many steps they took each day.

Once they had their numbers, the researchers compared each person’s walking habits with dementia diagnoses after tracking their steps for seven years. The scientists also looked at age, race, education, gender, socio-emotional status, and the number of days each subject wore the accelerator.

According to the findings, people who walked 9,826 steps a day were 50 percent less likely to develop dementia within seven years. In addition, those who walked more than 40 steps per minute, or about 6,315 steps per day, reduced their risk of dementia by 57%. Even slower walkers — those who walked about 3,800 steps a day — were able to reduce their risk of dementia by 25 percent.

While the findings are promising, the researchers note that the study has some limitations. Because it was only observational, it could not directly link walking with a lower risk of dementia. The researchers also pointed to the smaller age range of the participants, which may also have contributed to the positive results.