Although we may consciously exercise when we go out for a walk or bike ride, we are also exercising when we do household chores or take the stairs—and this ‘incidental activity’ is also making a difference.
Short bursts of activity of up to three minutes a time all help reduce our heart disease risk, say researchers from the University of Sydney. The ideal is achieving a degree of intensity where you are a little out of breath, the researchers say.
They analysed results from 103,684 participants in the UK Biobank study, who wore a fitness tracker on their wrist.
The researchers weren’t interested in the standard exercise the participants did, but the ‘incidental activity’ we all do but don’t usually register, such as washing up, mopping the floor, making the bed or taking the stairs.
The longer and more intense the activity the better, the researchers found. Those whose incidental activity that lasted longer than 10 minutes saw the biggest drop in heart disease risk, and moving consistently for up to three minutes also made a bigger difference. Intensity also mattered and those who huffed and luffed for at least 15 percent of the time they were active also saw greater benefits.
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