top of page

Five Extra Minutes of Movement Linked to Longer Life, Study Finds

  • Jul 14
  • 3 min read

Public health guidance has long centred on a single, sometimes daunting target: 150 minutes of moderate-intensity exercise a week, as recommended by the World Health Organization. Many adults fall well short of it, and the scale of that goal can feel like a barrier in itself. A large new study suggests the benefits of physical activity may begin far sooner than that target implies.


The five-minute finding

The study analysed data from around 150,000 adults across the United Kingdom, the United States and Scandinavia.


Moderate-intensity activity, in this context, describes movement that raises the heart rate and leaves a person mildly out of breath, such as brisk walking, cycling or climbing stairs. The analysis found that adding just five minutes of this kind of activity to an ordinary day was associated with preventing around one in ten premature deaths, a finding with implications for millions of people. Ulf Ekelund, professor of physical activity and health at the Norwegian School of Sport and the study's lead author, described the scale of the effect as unexpected, noting that such a small change in activity was linked to a meaningful reduction in the risk of premature death. He noted that the finding reflects a benefit across a population rather than a guarantee for any one individual.


For adults who were already active or relatively fit, the same five-minute addition produced a smaller effect. The study's authors point to a different, more encouraging message for anyone who struggles to get to a gym or join a sports club: adding even a small amount of movement into daily life can still bring a meaningful benefit.


Sitting less counts too

The researchers also examined sedentary time. Reducing the amount of time spent sitting by thirty minutes a day was linked to a seven per cent reduction in early death across the population. This is particularly relevant given that physical inactivity is itself a leading cause of chronic disease and early death.


Ekelund points to consistency as the more important factor for making any increase in activity last. Starting slowly and building up gradually, with activity suited to an individual's ability and preferences, is more likely to become a lasting habit than a sudden and ambitious change.


More evidence pointing in the same way

Several separate studies support the same broad conclusion: meaningful health gains do not require a radical change in lifestyle.


One US study followed adults in their sixties and seventies and found that those who combined aerobic exercise with muscle-strengthening activity lived longer and had a lower risk of dying than those who did no exercise at all.


A separate analysis looked at what is sometimes called exercise snacking, short bursts of activity spread across the day rather than one structured session.


Among older adults in particular, this pattern was linked to improved muscular endurance as well as better heart health, and the researchers behind it noted a high rate of uptake, with participants more likely to stick with it than a formal workout, most likely because it fits more easily into daily routines.


A third study, focused on walking, found that fewer daily steps than commonly assumed may still carry a benefit. Taking roughly 2,500 to 2,700 steps a day was associated with an eleven per cent reduction in cardiovascular risk compared with taking only 2,000 steps.


A lower bar than you'd think

The World Health Organisation's recommendation of 150 minutes of moderate-intensity exercise a week remains the target adults should aim for, and this research does not suggest otherwise. What it adds is a lower, more achievable starting point for anyone who currently manages very little activity, or none at all.


Five minutes of brisk walking, a short cycle, or a few minutes on the stairs, repeated daily, may be enough to begin shifting long-term risk in the right direction, particularly for those who find a formal exercise routine difficult to sustain.


bottom of page