🌅 Five Extra Minutes of Activity Can Save Lives

SOURCE

Ekelund et al. (2026)

WHAT TO KNOW

• An extra five minutes of moderate-intensity physical activity, like taking a brisk walk or doing household chores, is associated with a 10% reduction in deaths among the majority of adults and a 6% reduction in deaths among adults with low levels of daily physical activity. The new study published in The Lancet of 135,000 adults in Norway, the U.S., and the U.K. also found reducing sedentary time by 30 minutes each day is associated with an estimated 7% reduction in deaths among the majority of adults and a 3% reduction in deaths among highly sedentary adults.

WHY IT MATTERS

• Moderate physical activities are those that make you breathe heavier and feel warmer, like a brisk walk, gardening, or doing chores around the house. Experts say the present study isn’t just another “exercise is good for you” analysis, as the authors went further to investigate the benefits associated with reduced sedentary time, not just increased physical activity. Experts also say the findings should be intriguing for the health care industry, as the study focused on the population-wide benefits of increased physical activity and reduced inactivity, and conveys the important public health message that some activity is better than none.

CONNECT THE DOTS

• While the present study investigated the vast benefits of even small changes, other research suggests more vigorous exercise doesn’t only help you live longer, it also helps slow brain aging. A recent study by researchers at Washington University in St. Louis found people with greater muscle mass and less visceral belly fat tend to have heavier, more youthful brains, suggesting exercise lowers the risk of future brain diseases, like Alzheimer’s.