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If you walk for two minutes and repeat the walk over many times does that have a positive impact on your health? How about walking 10 minutes? Can you do that three times a day? The benefits of living longer seem to be the same with each pattern according to a new study of physical activity patterns and life spans.
It determined that exercise actually does not have to be for hours at a time. It really just needs to be frequent to be beneficial for your health.
Anyone interested in exercise knows the average recommended guideline is 30 minutes per day, five days per week. This moderate exercise will reduce our risks of many diseases and keep our heart healthy. Also recommended, the exercise be accum ulated in bouts of at least 10 minutes each.
The guidelines, which date back to 2008, were the best at the time. The goal was building aerobic fitness - endurance. Improving endurance and improving health are two different topics entirely.
This has all changed. In a new study published this month in the Journal of the American Heart Association, scientists are redefining what moderate activity is and how it accumulates. Researchers looked at the length of each exercise session. If a session went on for more than five minutes, it was a bout. Less than five minutes it was considered sporadic activity.
NYT, Gretchen Reynolds explains in "Those 2-Minute Walk Breaks? They Add Up" how the school of thought has now changed. As a result of this study, researchers have found all your moving matters. Even if you can't get to the gym, keep taking the stairs!
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