TRENDING SCIENCE: No more excuses! Two minutes of exercise enough

Calling on inactive people everywhere. Surely, you can find two minutes in your busy schedules for physical activity, can’t you? Just fit it in. (It’s not just sportswear company Nike that coins clever slogans!)

A study published in the ‘European Heart Journal’ found that quick bouts of robust physical activity during the course of the day can reduce older adults’ risk of premature death by 16-27 %. This is dependent on daily occurrence and weekly totals.A 2-minute burst of vigorous exercise every day for a total of 14 minutes per week was associated with about an 18 % lower risk of all-cause mortality (death from any cause). In addition, the research found that doing as little as 1-9 minutes of high-intensity activity every week in quick bursts as opposed to doing no such activity was linked to much lower all-cause mortality risk over a 5-year period.

The study involved close to 72 000 people aged 40-69 without any evidence of cardiovascular disease or cancer. The researchers monitored the total amount of weekly physical activity and concentrated on the regularity of vigorous bursts of exercise lasting 2 minutes or less. Participants were tracked for an average of about 7 years.

“The results indicate that accumulating vigorous activity in short bouts across the week can help us live longer,” commented study author Dr Matthew N. Ahmadi of the University of Sydney, Australia, in a news release on ‘EurekAlert!’. “Given that lack of time is the most commonly reported barrier to regular physical activity, accruing small amounts sporadically during the day may be a particularly attractive option for busy people.”A second study, also published in the ‘European Heart Journal’, found that for a certain amount of physical activity, raising the intensity was associated with a lower probability of cardiovascular disease. “Our study shows that it’s not just the amount of activity, but also the intensity, that is important for cardiovascular health,” explained study author Dr Paddy C. Dempsey of the United Kingdom’s University of Leicester and University of Cambridge as well as the Baker Heart and Diabetes Institute in Australia.

Dr Dempsey elaborated: “Our results suggest that increasing the total volume of physical activity is not the only way to reduce the likelihood of developing cardiovascular disease. Raising the intensity was also particularly important, while increasing both was optimal. This indicates that boosting the intensity of activities you already do is good for heart health. For example, picking up the pace on your daily walk to the bus stop or completing household chores more quickly.”

Could the key to living well and long be this shockingly simple? Why not take a lap around the house or office while you think about it?