If you sit a lot, an expert says just five minutes of brisk walking may make a real difference to longevity

New research published in The Lancethas reported that there could be longevity benefits for those willing to add just five-minute pockets of movement to their day.

Lead author Professor Ulf Ekelund, a specialist in physical activity and health, tells Fit&Well that there was a hole in our current understanding of the relationship between movement and mortality.

While we know the basics, that sedentary people are at a higher risk of all-cause mortality than those who are active, Ekelund explained that his study focuses specifically on the impact of minor changes.

“This is the first study examining how small changes in moderate intensity physical activity may prevent premature deaths in the total population if all individuals adhere to these changes,” he says.

The meta-analysis drew on studies that used activity trackers to collect minute-by-minute data, making it more accurate than older studies, which tend to rely on self-reported data.

And while previous studies have estimated the number of deaths averted if inactive people met the World Health Organization (WHO) physical activity guidelines—which recommend at least 150 minutes of moderate-to-high-intensity exercise per week—this new study focuses on smaller, daily movements.

What the study found

Ekelund, who worked as a consulting expert on the most recent iteration of the WHO guidelines, explains that the approach does not consider that the greatest benefits occur if those with low activity levels make small adjustments.

The WHO’s recommended 150 minutes a week translates to around 20 minutes per day, but there are benefits to increasing your movement levels even less.

“We learned that small changes in physical activity or sedentary time may have large impacts on preventing deaths if all individuals in the population adhere to these small changes.”

The findings show that adding just five minutes of moderate-intensity exercise to your day could lead to a 6%-10% decrease in mortality risk.

Ekelund adds that slightly different parameters can be applied for a similar result: reducing the amount of time you spend sedentary by just 30 minutes a day lowers the risk of mortality by 3%-7.3%.

A brisk walk could be the answer

You can disrupt sedentary time with something as simple as getting up and walking around your apartment, doing a quick at-home 1,000 step walking workout or a five-minute exercise snack.

Moving for five minutes every hour will easily add up to 30 minutes less sedentary time in a working day.

“The most common activity with moderate intensity is brisk walking,” says Ekelund. “This is safe, does not require additional equipment and you do not need to go to the gym.

“Walking up and down stairs is also a great activity. Importantly, every minute counts.”

Who can benefit from these snack-sized changes?

I asked Ekelund to explain whether adding the five-minute brisk walks would impact someone who already exercises regularly and someone sedentary in the same way.

“Those who currently do very little activity are the ones who gain the most from increasing their activity,” he says.

He explains that, when we view the benefits of increased activity, there is a correlated improvement in mortality risk. The mortality risk reduces steeply with each five-minute increment added and plateaus at around 25 minutes, which aligns with the WHO guidelines.

This plateau doesn’t mean that you should stop at 25 minutes, but that the improvement to your mortality risk stops increasing after this point. Other benefits may continue to accumulate, though.

If you are someone who is already fit and moving the recommended 150 minutes a week, your mortality risk is already lower than that of someone sedentary, so the decrease in risk will be less significant.

Professor Ulf Ekelund, PhD

Ekelund is a professor in physical activity and health at the Norwegian School of Sport Sciences and holds a secondary position as senior researcher in physical activity and public health at the Norwegian Public Health Institute.

He has published over 470 original research publications since 2000 and has led or co-led several large international research projects in the past 20 years, including a program in physical activity epidemiology at the University of Cambridge, UK.

Ekelund is also an academic expert for the World Health Organization, serving on several committees and as part of expert groups developing recommendations for physical activity.