Accumulating brief bouts of strenuous activity like stair climbing or brisk walking to total 4–5 minutes per day

For individuals who do not exercise regularly, performing just three 1–2 minute bouts of strenuous activity each day can reduce their overall risk of death by roughly 40% compared to those who do none at all. Their risk of dying from cardiovascular causes also drops by nearly half. Such strenuous activities include stair climbing and brisk walking.

Cost

There is no cost involved, and no extra time needs to be set aside for exercise. The main challenge is remembering to climb stairs or walk briskly instead of taking shortcuts.

Benefit

A study conducted by the UK Biobank involved 25,200 participants who did not engage in regular exercise. After an average follow-up period of 6.9 years, 852 participants passed away. Those who completed three 1–2 minute bouts of strenuous activity daily saw their overall mortality risk and risk of cancer-related death drop by 38%–40%. Their risk of cardiovascular death fell by 48%–49%. Even those who accumulated just 4.4 minutes of such activity per day experienced a 26%–30% reduction in overall mortality and cancer death risk, as well as a 32%–34% drop in cardiovascular death risk.

Notes

This finding is somewhat controversial. The study relied on wearable devices to accurately measure physical activity levels, which is more reliable than self-reported survey data. However, it remains an observational study without any randomized controlled trials, and the follow-up period was only 6.9 years. These results apply only to people who do not exercise regularly, and may not hold true for those who already maintain a regular exercise routine.

Sources · 1

1. Stamatakis E, Ahmadi MN, Gill JMR, et al. (2022). Association of wearable device-measured vigorous intermittent lifestyle physical activity with mortality. Nature Medicine, 28, 2521-2529. doi.org/10.1038/s41591-022-02100-x