A large study suggests you don’t need long workouts to improve your health.
Even just a few minutes of vigorous physical activity each day could lower the risk of several serious diseases.
The study, published in the European Heart Journal, found that short bursts of intense activity were linked to lower chances of conditions like arthritis, heart disease and dementia.
Researchers analyzed activity data from nearly 96,000 people.
They compared how active people were overall and how much of that activity qualified as vigorous.
Then they followed participants for several years to see who developed major diseases.
The researchers were especially interested in whether intensity matters. In other words, if two people are active for the same amount of time, does the person who exercises harder see greater health benefits?
Short, Sweet and Strenuous
One interesting finding was that even brief bursts of effort made a difference.
Movement such as running after a paper blowing in the wind, rushing up stairs or walking very quickly to the next shopping aisle counted as vigorous activity.
These short moments were still linked to lower risks of disease and death.
The strongest benefits showed up for inflammatory diseases such as arthritis, major cardiovascular problems like heart attacks and strokes, and conditions affecting the brain such as dementia.
All participants were part of the UK Biobank project, a large long-term health study in the United Kingdom.
Each person wore a wrist-based motion sensor for one week. These devices recorded movement patterns and helped researchers detect short bursts of intense activity that people might not remember or report.
Thus, the study limitation of subjective reporting was eliminated.
Using this data, scientists measured both total activity levels and how much of that activity was vigorous enough to cause noticeable breathlessness.
Researchers then compared those numbers to health outcomes over the next seven years.
People who did a larger share of intense activity had significantly lower risks across all the diseases studied.
- Compared with people who did no vigorous exercise, those with the highest levels had a 63 percent lower risk of cognitive decline.
- Their risk of developing type 2 diabetes was about 60 percent lower.
- They also had a 46 percent lower risk of death during the study period.
What surprised researchers was that these benefits appeared even when the total amount of rigorous activity was relatively small.
Inflammatory diseases, including arthritis and psoriasis, showed the strongest link to vigorous activity.
In these cases, how hard someone exercised seemed to matter more than how long they were active.
For other conditions such as type 2 diabetes and chronic liver disease, both factors played a role.
The total amount of activity and the intensity both contributed to lower risk.
Short and Hard: the Way to Go
According to the researchers, vigorous exercise triggers physical responses that lighter activity doesn’t fully produce.
When activity becomes intense enough to make someone breathe hard, the heart pumps more efficiently and blood vessels become more flexible. The body also improves its ability to use oxygen.
Intense movement may also reduce inflammation in the body. That could help explain why the study found strong links with inflammatory conditions.
How to Inject Short Intense Bursts of Movement into Your Busy Day
It’s simpler than you think. Any chance you get, move in a burst — even if it’s from one room in the house to the next.
Going to your mailbox at the end of the drive? Bolt there, and back. Never mind what the neighbors wonder.
Picking up your child’s toys? Drop into a squat, get the toy, then spring back up, feet off the floor: a squat jump.
Go up the staircase fast — two steps at a time. Or trot up them as quickly as you can.
If an employee at a store offers to carry your merchandise to your car, politely refuse: do it yourself, even if it’s difficult.
Always dash up steps. Always trot from car to store entrance. You get the picture.
It’ll help tremendously if you wear athletic shoes as much as possible. Never trot or dash in heels, sandals or flip-flops.
The study found that even about 15 to 20 minutes of strenuous activity per week — just a few minutes a day — was associated with meaningful health improvements.
