Nature: To radically extend life and protect the heart, there is no need to spend hours training in the gym or laying out a mat at home. Transitioning from complete inactivity to short bursts of intense household activity (1-2 minutes, 3-4 times a day) yields the maximum health benefits, reducing the risk of premature death from all causes by about 40%.
That is, with regular sports activities, the maximum effect is in the first minutes of exertion, then it significantly weakens (but still grows).
Unlike most previous studies, which relied on inaccurate questionnaires (where people forgot to report household activity), this research used accelerometers. Sensors accurately recorded each sharp movement of the participants.
Scientists observed 25,241 volunteers (average age — 62 years), who fundamentally did not engage in fitness in their free time, for 7 years.
Even if a person intensely exerts themselves just once a day for 1–2 minutes, their risk of dying from cardiovascular diseases decreases by 33%. Three sessions a day (totaling about 3–4 minutes) reduce the risk of death from cancer by 40%, and from cardiovascular diseases by 50%. 4.5 minutes — 26-30% and 32-34% respectively. 11 sessions a day — 65% and 49%.
The main criterion for high intensity is that you cannot talk normally, let alone sing during the activity. Examples: Quick ascent on the stairs or running up the escalator, sprinting after a departing bus, brisk walking around the office or corridor during a break, a short (3 minutes) bike ride instead of a 15-minute leisurely walk, carrying heavy shopping bags or children for a distance of 50–100 meters (effect proven in other related studies, but caution is needed not to strain the lower back).
Possible reasons include: Short-term, but relatively intense physical load slightly shakes the immune system, forcing it to work better and more efficiently in finding precancerous cells, changes the balance of hormones, reduces insulin resistance, which suppresses chronic inflammation — one of the main predictors of cancer.
Source: Stamatakis, E., Ahmadi, M.N., Gill, J.M.R. et al. Association of wearable device-measured vigorous intermittent lifestyle physical activity with mortality. Nat Med 28, 2521–2529 (2022).
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