You’ve heard of “take the stairs instead of the elevator” many times, but you’re going to hear it again: It could add years to your heart and life, so ditch the elevator and get on that staircase.
Or, just make an effort to climb more stairs anywhere in day to day life. This includes actual stair workouts.
A major study from the University of East Anglia and Norfolk and Norwich University Hospital found that people who climbed stairs regularly had significantly lower risks of premature cardiovascular death.
Frequent stair climbers were 39% less likely to die from cardiovascular causes and 24% less likely to die early from any cause than were people who rarely used a staircase.
Stair climbing was also associated with lower risks of major heart problems, including heart attacks, strokes and heart failure.
Stairs and the Heart
Professor Vassilios Vassiliou of UEA’s Norwich Medical School says that using a staircase is an easy way to add more movement to everyday life.
Researchers analyzed data from more than 480,000 people.
The team initially reviewed nearly 1,900 studies before narrowing their analysis to nine high quality studies involving more than 480,000 people.
Participants were between 35 and 84 and about 53% were women. The studies included both healthy individuals and those with a history of cardiovascular disease.
Participants were followed for a median of 14 years.
Dr. Sophie Paddock, a cardiology specialist registrar at Norfolk and Norwich University Hospital, says the results showed a consistent connection between stair climbing and lower cardiovascular and overall mortality.
Even a little stair climbing may help: A few steps here, a few steps there — it all adds up — especially when you put some perk behind your feet.
Previous research has found that just a few minutes of stair climbing several times a week can improve cardiorespiratory fitness and lower cholesterol.
One large study included in the review suggested that going up six flights of stairs per day may offer particularly strong benefits.
However, the study says it’s still not clear exactly how much stair climbing produces the greatest health benefit.
Adding in More Stair Steps
Some of the studies suggested that health benefits increased with more steps climbed.
At the same time, even relatively small increases in activity were associated with measurable improvements.
Wherever you are in life, look around for steps to use. Then go up them with a flair. Don’t trudge up them.
Trudging may be better than the elevator, of course, but do your best to put some fire in your stepping.
Got a staircase in the house? If you’re on the first level and you were just on the second and came back down, and you realized you forgot to retrieve something from upstairs — then march right back upstairs instead of ordering your kid to get the item for you.
