- Australian researchers tracked more than 25,000 UK adults who didn’t exercise
- Short bouts of exercise linked to sharp decreases in heart attacks, strokes
Climbing flights of stairs and mopping floors quickly is enough to reduce the risk of heart attacks and strokes, a study suggests.
Brief bouts of “incidental” activity, the kind we engage in as part of daily life, may help maintain health as we age, research suggests.
A team led by the University of Sydney tracked more than 25,000 UK adults who were not involved in any sport or exercise.
Participants wore wrist devices that measured their physical activity patterns.
The researchers found that most of the incidental activity was accumulated in bouts that lasted less than 10 minutes.
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Brief bouts of “incidental” activity, the kind we engage in as part of daily life, may help maintain health as we age, research suggests. A team led by the University of Sydney tracked more than 25,000 UK adults who were not involved in any sport or exercise. Participants wore wrist devices that measured their physical activity patterns.
These brief episodes, of moderate to vigorous intensity, were linked to a sharp decline in heart attacks and strokes, and death from any cause over the course of eight years.
Moving constantly for at least one to three minutes was associated with a significantly greater benefit (a 29 percent decrease in heart attack and stroke risk and a 44 percent decrease in mortality risk) compared with periods of very little. short ones that lasted less than a minute.
And the more vigorous the activity in each combat, the better. Those who huffed and puffed for at least 10 seconds per minute got the most benefit, the team said.
Professor Emmanuel Stamatakis, lead author of the study, said: “From climbing stairs to quickly mopping floors, in recent years we have come to understand that it is not just structured exercise that is good for our health, but we know “There are very little about how these brief periods of incidental activity translate into health benefits.”
The team said the idea of building up short bursts of activity throughout daily life makes physical activity much more accessible to people who are unwilling or unable to participate in exercise.
Lead author Dr Matthew Ahmadi added: “This study suggests that people could potentially reduce their risk of major cardiac events by engaging in activities of daily living of at least moderate intensity in which, ideally, they move continuously. for at least one to three minutes at a time.”
“In fact, it appears that this may have health benefits comparable to longer bouts lasting five to ten minutes.
“The bottom line is that any type of activity is good for your health, but the more effort you put into those daily tasks and the longer you maintain that energy, the more benefits you will get.”
“If you’re huffing and puffing and unable to hold a conversation for part of that time, you’ve hit the sweet spot.”
The findings were published in the journal The Lancet Public Health.
