How can 10 minutes a day prevent your risk for a heart attack?
Quick Summary: Improving your long-term health and reducing your risk of heart attack, stroke, coronary artery disease, cancer, etc... can be as simple as picking up a weekend sport or walking more each day. In fact, we could theoretically prevent>100K deaths annually if folks purposefully moved for even 10 minutes per day. Learn more about how simple this can be below.
Three highly talked about studies from 2022 looked at the "lowest effective dose" (if you will) of movement that will still profoundly impact our health. Let's summarize them.
JAMA Study #1
One group of researchers followed just under 5,000 people and were able to create the following estimates about movement/physical activity decreasing rates of death in the United States:
An extra 10 minutes of daily movement reduces 6.9% of deaths annually.
An extra 20 minutes of daily movement reduces this by 13%.
An extra 30 minutes of daily movement reduces this by 16.9%.
To quote the researchers, "In this cohort study, we estimated that approximately 110,000 deaths per year could be prevented if US adults aged 40 to 85 years or older increased their MVPA by a small amount (i.e., 10 minutes per day)."
JAMA Study #2
What if we looked at step counts? Nothing fancy. Just the number of times you put one foot in front of the other.
This study followed 78,500 people (for perspective, that's approximately the size of a decent NFL stadium crowd). The statistics were "jargony," so we'll keep it simple. When you're in the ballpark of 6,000-10,000 steps per day (or more):
Less heart disease (e.g., stroke, heart attack, CAD).
Less cancer.
A faster cadence (100-150+ steps/min) confers additional benefits.
JAMA Study #3
Finally, the question (often rebuttal) arises, "What if I don't have time to exercise every day?" Well, fret not. The "weekend warrior" appears to be a viable option.
Researchers took a group of 350,978 people and categorized them as physically inactive, physically active (>3 sessions/week), and weekend warriors (1-2 sessions/week). Intuitively, we found that the individuals who exercised (physically active + weekend warriors) had better health than those who did not exercise.
The kicker? Whether you were physically active more than three days a week or just participated in activity on the weekends (or weeknights) didn't affect mortality outcomes. This means that "Adults who perform 150 minutes or more of moderate to vigorous physical activity (or 75 minutes of vigorous activity) per week may experience similar health benefits whether the sessions are spread throughout the week or concentrated in a weekend."
What can you take away from the data we collected on these 434,318 people?
Move more. Play. Have fun.
It doesn't matter. By adding 10 minutes of physical activity to your day, walking 6,000 steps or more, or playing a sport on the weekends, you are minimizing your risk of a cardiovascular event (e.g., stroke), lowering your risk of cancer, and lowering your risk of mortality in general. And, honestly, these are shallow bars to meet, which is excellent news for us all.
So, get up from whatever device you're reading this from, and take a lap around your block, house, or living room. Just get moving.
Now, if you’re suffering from a concussion or PCS - you should know that movement is a cornerstone of rehab. But, finding the right provider can be challenging, and providers can often bounce folks through the system from specialist to specialist with no real answers. If you're in this boat and looking for an organized, evidence-based online program to recover from your concussion/PCS, check out the Concussion Reset Program or the growing list of Concussion Mini-Courses from Arizona Vitality.
Consider scheduling a discovery call for a comprehensive, one-on-one concussion recovery package with Dr. Mark. Throughout three visits, you will have a complete assessment (along with rehab prescriptions) of your autonomic, metabolic, visual, vestibular, and cervical spine systems, along with appropriate mental health and neurocognitive screening.