According to this study, following three to four one-minute bouts of “vigorous intermittent lifestyle physical activity” reduces the risk of death by up to 40%.
You don’t have the time or don’t want to spend long hours at the gym? Good news, a very short period of physical activity would be enough to stay in shape. Daily activity bursts of just one minute could help prolong life, according to a study by Australian researchers, reports le Daily Mail.
Specifically, the researchers measured the benefits of what they call a “vigorous intermittent lifestyle physical activity” (VILPA). What is it? Behind this term, this approach consists of taking a few minutes of brisk walking to catch the bus, playing actively with the children, picking up the pace while doing the housework, etc. So , they found that performing three or four short bouts of activity reduced the risk of dying prematurely.
This study, led by a team from the Charles Perkins Center at the University of Sydney, is the first to measure the health benefits of “lifestyle vigorous intermittent physical activity“. As the English site explains, the participants in this study all wore a wrist tracker for a week in order to measure the activity of more than 25,000 “non-athletes“.
A reduction in deaths
Results ? Following three to four one-minute episodes of VILPA each day has been linked to up to a 40% reduction in all-cause deaths. In addition, this practice has been associated with a decrease of up to 49% in the risk of death from cardiovascular disease. Those who achieved eleven episodes a day saw a 65% reduction in the risk of cardiovascular death and a 49% reduction in the risk of cancer-related death. The findings were published in the journal Nature Medicine.
“Our study shows that similar benefits to high-intensity interval training (HIIT) can be achieved by increasing the intensity of incidental activities performed as part of daily living, and the more the better. . A few very short bouts totaling three to four minutes a day can go a long way, and there are many daily activities that can be modified to get your heart rate up for about a minute.“says lead author Emmanuel Stamatakis, professor of physical activity, lifestyle and population health. According to the researchers, the more episodes, the better for your health!
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