What is incidental exercise and how it can protect your heart

In the modern era with never-ending to-do tasks and jam-packed schedules, taking out time for exercise and self care is increasingly becoming difficult. Many people who start for their workplaces early in the morning and reach late in the night may find it tricky to squeeze in some time for workouts. According to CDC (The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention more than a quarter of Americans don’t get any physical activity outside of work.
Where intentional exercise isn’t possible, experts emphasize on the importance of

incidental exercise

which can play a big role in keeping your heart healthy and your overall well-being.

What is incidental exercise?

Incidental exercise is the kind of physical activity that we do while engaging in normal daily activities across our day. Climbing stairs, walking to the grocery store, cleaning the house or pacing in the room while talking to your friend are all incidental exercise. These small activities can club together to provide many benefits for your well-being.

Health guidelines by CDC suggest you to do moderate-intensity exercise for 150 minutes a week, plus two days of strength-building workouts. While one should try to meet them, getting up even for few minutes multiple times can be beneficial for your heart.

What the new study says

A new study published in British Journal of Sports Medicine by the researchers from the University of Sydney involved 13,000 women and 9,000 men and they were analysed for whether they had heart attacks or other cardiovascular issues and how many minutes they got of “vigorous intermittent lifestyle physical activity” or exercise that happens incidentally throughout the day. This included climbing stairs or walking your dog.

The rate of major cardiovascular events like heart attacks or heart failure were analysed over the course of eight years among people who reported no exercise at all and this was compared with those who said they didn’t go to the gym or intentionally exercise but did get some of this incidental exercise.

Every minute of activity counts

The study found some interesting facts. Women who got 1.5-4 minutes of incidental exercise had 50% less risk of heart attacks and other cardiovascular issues compared to those who did do such activities.
Women who spent as little as 1.2 to 1.6 minutes on stair-climbing or such activities saw their

cardiovascular disease

risk lower by 30%.

Men get fewer benefits as compared to women

However, for men, the

benefits of incidental exercise

were far less. Men who got 5.6 minutes of daily incidental activity only saw a 16% reduction in their major cardiovascular event risks compared to those who did no exercise, incidental or otherwise.
Incidental exercises can boost your

heart health

and lower risk of heart disease. Besides, some activity is also good for your bone and brain health.

Here are some incidental exercises you must do and look at increasing their frequency:

Instead of taking lift or elevator, climb the stairs to up your step count and keep your heart healthy.
If your workplace is nearby, you can consider walking or maybe cycling instead of driving. In case, you travel by train or bus, you can get down few stations early and walk the rest of the distance.
Hobbies like gardening or playing a sport can add to your incidental exercise duration
Doing some housework like cooking and cleaning can help you get benefits of incidental exercise.
Go for a short walk after every meal be it breakfast, dinner, or lunch.
Be active while watching television or talking on phone.