For anyone interested in the relationship between exercise and longevity, one of the most pressing questions is how much we really need to stay healthy.
Is 30 minutes a day enough?
Is it possible to do it at a low cost?
Do you need to do everything in one session or can you spread it throughout the day?
And when we’re talking about exercise, does it need to be difficult to count?
For years, exercise scientists have sought to quantify the ideal exercise “dose” for most people.They finally in 2008 Physical activity guidelines for AmericansUpdated in 2018 after an extensive review of available sciences on exercise, lotus coition, and health. In both versions, the guidelines advised those who were able to physically accumulate 150 minutes of moderate exercise each week. In the case of strenuous exercise, it will be halved.
But what’s the best way to free those weekly minutes? And what does “medium” mean? Some of the key researchers in exercise science say steps, stairwells, weekend warriors, longevity, and why the healthiest steps we can take take us off the couch. Here’s what I had to do.
Aim for a 150-minute sweet spot
Dr. I-Min Lee, a professor of epidemiology at Harvard TH Chan School of Public Health, said: She studied exercise and health extensively and helped draft current national physical activity guidelines.
For practical purposes, exercise scientists often recommend dividing that 150 minutes into 30-minute sessions of speedy walking or similar activities five times a week. “It’s very obvious, as it’s so common in many large scales. Epidemiological research That 30 minutes of most daytime intensity activities Lower risk Wolf Ekelund, a professor of physical activity epidemiology at the Norwegian School of Sport Sciences in Oslo, said: Those studies.
Moderate exercise means that “exercise feels like 5 or 6 on a scale of 1 to 10 because it is an activity that increases breathing and heart rate.” In other words, if your tendency is to take a walk, increase your pace a bit, but don’t feel forced to sprint.
Consider an athletic snack
You can also divide your exercise into smaller segments. Emmanuel Stamatakis, an athletic scientist at the University of Sydney, Australia, who studies physical activity and health, said: ..
Recent research Overwhelmingly Performance He said that 150 minutes of moderate exercise per week can be accumulated in the best way for us. “Many people may find it easier and more sustainable to squeeze in dozens of one- or two-minute walks between jobs,” or other commitments. For most health benefits, “there is no special magic in a 30-minute sustained exercise session.”
Think of these bite-sized workouts as exercise snacks, he said. “Activities such as very fast walking, climbing stairs, and carrying shopping bags provide a great opportunity for movement snacks.” To focus on the health benefits of these training nuggets, he said. Added to keep the strength relatively high.
Perhaps you can pack all your exercise into a long Saturday and Sunday workout.so 2017 survey According to Dr. Stamatakis and his colleagues, those who reported exercising almost completely on weekends were less likely to die earlier than those who said they were barely exercising. However, being a weekend warrior has its drawbacks. “It’s certainly not ideal to spend a week working completely sedentary and then try to make up for it,” said Dr. Stamatakis. He said he missed many of the health benefits of regular exercise on non-exercise days, including improved glycemic control and mood. It also increases the risk of exercise-related injuries.
Count the steps
If you measure your exercise in stages rather than minutes, the exercise recommendations remain the same. For most people, “150 minutes of exercise a week is equivalent to about 7,000 to 8,000 steps a day,” said Dr. Lee.so Large-scale new research According to Dr. Lee and Dr. Ekelund on the relationship between steps and longevity, announced in March at Lancet, the optimal number of steps for people under the age of 60 is about 8,000 to 10,000 per day, for people over the age of 60. If it is about 6,000 to 8,000 a day.
Think more
Of course, these steps and minutes recommendations focus on health and longevity, not physical performance. “If you want to run a marathon or a 10km race as fast as you can, you need more exercise,” said Dr. Ekelund.
The recommended 150 minutes a week can be too little to stop age-related weight gain.so 2010 survey Of the approximately 35,000 women led by Dr. Lee, only those who walked or exercised moderately for about an hour a day in middle age maintained their weight as they grew older.
So, if you have the time and the tendency, travel at least 30 minutes a day, Dr. Lee and other scientists said. In general, According to her research And in other studies, the more active we are, the lower the risk of chronic illness and the longer our lifespan may be, well over 30 minutes a day.
But All activities Better than none. “Every minute is important,” said Dr. Ekelund. “Climbing the stairs can be a health benefit if you repeat it regularly, even if it only lasts a minute or two.” – This article was originally published in The New York Times
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