Yahoo News - We're often hard on ourselves when it comes to what "counts" as a workout, but a new study found that even tiny bursts of movement can have positive health effects. ?
Everyday activities like walking the dog around the block, taking the stairs instead of the elevator, scrubbing the floors, and raking the leaves all fall into the bucket of "incidental exercise." Researchers from the University of Sydney analyzed the value of these activities when it comes to preventing major adverse cardiovascular events, like heart attacks.
Women who got 1.5-4 minutes of daily incidental exercise had a nearly 50% lower risk of cardiovascular issues compared to those who said they never engaged in such activities. The results were slightly less dramatic for the men in the study: Those who got 5.6 minutes of incidental exercise per day saw a 16% reduction in their risk of major cardiovascular events.
"Doing something is likely better than nothing is the take-home message about incidental exercise," cardiologist Luke Laffin, who was not involved in the research, told Yahoo Life, noting that it's still ideal to have a more robust workout routine. Get some ideas on how to incorporate incidental exercise into your daily life.
Everyday activities like walking the dog around the block, taking the stairs instead of the elevator, scrubbing the floors, and raking the leaves all fall into the bucket of "incidental exercise." Researchers from the University of Sydney analyzed the value of these activities when it comes to preventing major adverse cardiovascular events, like heart attacks.
Women who got 1.5-4 minutes of daily incidental exercise had a nearly 50% lower risk of cardiovascular issues compared to those who said they never engaged in such activities. The results were slightly less dramatic for the men in the study: Those who got 5.6 minutes of incidental exercise per day saw a 16% reduction in their risk of major cardiovascular events.
"Doing something is likely better than nothing is the take-home message about incidental exercise," cardiologist Luke Laffin, who was not involved in the research, told Yahoo Life, noting that it's still ideal to have a more robust workout routine. Get some ideas on how to incorporate incidental exercise into your daily life.
