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When it comes your longevity, you don’t need intense workouts or major lifestyle overhauls to have a meaningful impact. According to a new study in The Lancet, even an extra 5 or 10 minutes of incremental moderate activity per day has the potential to lower mortality risk by as much as 10% in the total population. The researchers also found sitting 30 minutes less every day could prevent premature death by 7% in people across the board.
“For the first time, we were able to quantify how many deaths might be prevented by small, realistic changes in moderate activity or sedentary time if all individuals in the population incorporated them into their day,”says Ulf Ekelund, PhD, a professor in the department of sports medicine at the Norwegian School of Sport Sciences in Oslo, Norway, and the study’s lead author.
Keep reading to learn more about what Ekelund’s study uncovered in this research and how even a little bit of extra movement can go a long way toward protecting your health.
Can a small number of steps save lives?
That was the big question these researchers set out to answer. Physical inactivity has been estimated to cause as much as 7 to 9% of deaths worldwide, according to the study. However, those estimates are based on self-reported physical activity, which is known to be less accurate than device-measured physical activity.
Ekelund and his colleagues wanted better data. They also wanted to gain some clarity as to how smaller bouts of physical activity during the day, or less sedentary time, could possibly cut the risk of premature death in certain segments of the population. Specifically, they were interested in looking at people who were the least active (meaning they spent about two minutes per day doing moderate-to-vigorous physical activity) as well as those who exercise more but still don’t meet the World Health Organization’s (WHO) global recommendations of at least 150 minutes of moderate-to-vigorous-intensity physical activity every week.
“Previous studies have estimated the number of deaths potentially averted if all individuals who currently do not meet the WHO recommendations were active according to these recommendations,” says Ekelund. Unfortunately, he notes, that approach “does not consider that the greatest health benefits occur if those who are inactive or only do very little activity increase their activity.”
What the study found
The researchers looked at previous data from a total of seven studies of more than 135,000 adults in Norway, Sweden, the UK, and the USA. The participants were all aged 40 and older and had their physical activity measured minute-by-minute by some type of accelerometer, such as a wrist or hip-worn device.
The scientists focused on two categories of people: the 20% of individuals who were the least active and a broader group comprised of everyone except the most active 20% of people. To determine the measurable the effect of physical activity on all-cause mortality risk, they primarily used medical records and death certificates.
While assessing the data over the average follow-up period of eight years, Ekelund and his colleagues discovered a 5-minute increase of physical activity per day was associated with a 6% reduced mortality risk in the least active group, and a 10% decrease in premature death in the larger population group. “We quantified the number of deaths averted by 5-minute increases (for example, people going from 1 minute to 6 minutes or 2 minutes to 7 minutes) which is a more fine-graded approach,” says Ekelund. “The greatest health benefits were observed in the least active.”
When they looked at sedentary time, the findings were less significant, but still noteworthy: Sitting 30 minutes less a day could prevent around 3% of all deaths in the least active group, and 7% in the general population.
Why even a little extra exercise may boost your lifespan
Getting older means you become more vulnerable to certain age-related health issues, such as osteoporosis, cardiovascular disease, type 2 diabetes, obesity, and cancer. Unfortunately, some of these issues can be life-threatening and increase your chance of an earlier death.
However, being physically active may help protect you from developing some of these conditions, and more, later in life. In fact, one extensive study review in the Journal of Aging Research found physical activity reduces the risk of many major mortality risk factors including arterial high blood pressure, type 2 diabetes, coronary heart disease, stroke, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), and certain types of cancer. The study showed mortality from all causes drops by about 30% to 35% in physically active individuals compared to those who are inactive.
Another study in Nature Medicine found people who did three to four 1- to 2-minute blasts of vigorous activity a day—such as running up the stairs, fast power walking while doing errands, or playing high-energy games with the grandkids—had up to a 40% reduction in all-cause and cancer-related mortality, and up to a 49% decrease in death related to cardiovascular disease.
The simple act of moving more and getting your heart rate up with moderate to vigorous aerobic activity may work to strengthen your cardiovascular system, boost your immunity, improve circulation, and help reduce cholesterol, blood sugar levels and chronic inflammation. The recommended exercise guidelines of 150 minutes a week can sound like a lot, but it can be broken down into 30 minutes of moderate-to-vigorous-intensity physical activity five days a week. Plus, as this new Norwegian study showed, just 5 minutes can make a difference.
The bottom line
You don’t need to run marathons to boost your health. Brisk walking, leisurely cycling, water aerobics, and gardening are all examples of moderate-intensity activities that can help. “I was surprised by the large effect these small increases in moderate activity could have on preventing premature mortality,” says Ekelund. He also notes these little additions shouldn’t be considered a substitute for regular exercise, but rather thought of as an extra step towards staying healthy.
Although Ekelund and his team’s research applies to the population as a whole, squeezing additional bursts of exercise into your day is smart for your individual health. Spreading the word and encouraging your friends, family members and spouse to do the same can make a meaningful shift in everyone’s life, including keeping those you love around for longer.
Ekelund hopes the study’s findings could be beneficial in other ways as well. For example, the research could give policy makers information they can use for promoting physical activity in the general population and for high risk groups. “And, our novel statistical approach can be applied to other scientific analyses, for example, sleep research and small changes in the number of steps you take when walking.”
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