Start your timers.
A sweeping new international study found that doing a simple physical activity for just five minutes a day could help millions live longer, preventing an estimated 1 in 10 deaths.
That daily habit could pack a big punch in the US, where a rising number of early and middle-aged Americans are dying young.
“There’s clear evidence that lack of movement is a very detrimental thing,” said Dr. Theodore Strange, chairman of medicine at Staten Island University Hospital, who was not involved in the study.
“We need to become a more active society in general,” he continued. “Let’s start with an extra five minutes a day. That’s achievable.”
In the study, researchers analyzed data from nearly 95,000 people in the UK and another 40,000 from Norway, Sweden and the US, most of whom were in their 50s and 60s.
The participants wore pedometers to track their activity levels and time spent sitting, while death rates from all causes were monitored over an average of eight years.
The researchers found that adding one brisk five-minute walk a day was associated with a 10% reduction in deaths across the general population.
Among the least active participants — who researchers believed faced a higher risk of dying due to their sedentary lifestyles — deaths fell by 6%.
“You should be doing this until, hopefully, a ripe old age,” said Strange, who also serves as associate regional physician executive for the Western Region for Northwell Health. “We should not stop moving … It’s an important part of staying healthy.”
Getting active boosts blood circulation, he explained, delivering vital nutrients to organs like the brain, heart, liver and kidneys and helping them work more efficiently.
Movement also triggers the release of feel-good chemicals such as serotonin, endorphins and dopamine, acting as natural mood boosters, pain relievers and stress reducers.
Regular exercise strengthens muscles and bones, helps manage blood sugar and keeps weight in check, too.
And if brisk walking isn’t your thing, don’t sweat it.
The study also found that simply cutting sedentary time by about 30 minutes a day was linked to a 7% reduction in deaths from all causes.
“Everybody just needs to find their comfort zone and their favorite thing to do,” Strange said.
“If it’s swimming, great. If it’s biking, great. If it’s walking or jogging, great. If it’s a treadmill that you need to use because you prefer to be in a house with a TV on or reading a book, great,” he continued. “But you need to do something as opposed to just sitting on a couch, sitting in a chair and just not doing anything.”
After all, some public health experts have dubbed prolonged sitting the new smoking, warning that too much time spent parked on the couch can raise the risk of chronic health problems like heart disease, diabetes and some cancers.
And in the US, it’s a serious problem. Americans spend an average of 9.5 hours a day sitting, largely at work or at home.
That’s despite federal guidelines urging adults to get at least 150 minutes of moderate-intensity activity and two days of muscle-strengthening exercise each week. Fewer than one in four Americans actually hit both targets.
“I try personally to do an hour of aerobic exercise at least five days a week combined with a little bit of lightweight training,” Strange said.
Still, the latest research suggests that even five minutes of brisk walking is a meaningful step toward better health.
“That’s easy in anybody’s day, as opposed to saying, ‘Well, you’ve got to walk an hour more a day’ and you say, ‘Where am I going to get my hour from?’” Strange said.
“Everybody has five minutes that they can spare,” he added. “Whatever the exercise is, whatever the movement is, we should be doing it.”
