We’re busy people in 2026, so if there’s a shortcut to help live healthily for longer, a lot of us will probably take it. It’s why numerous studies have looked at how even small changes to our physical activity and daily routine can improve our longevity.
Researchers from the Norwegian School of Sports Sciences looked at how small increases in activity can lower your mortality risk. They analysed movement data from more than 135,000 older people who wore activity trackers: 40,000 from Norway, Sweden and the US who wore the device on their hip and nearly 95,000 UK Biobank participants who wore a fitness tracker on their wrist.
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“Considering that it is unlikely for all individuals to achieve the WHO (World Health Organisation) physical activity recommendations of 150 min of moderate-to-vigorous-intensity physical activity weekly, our data underscore the large impact of realistic and achievable behaviour goals on population health,” the authors write.
The team also looked at what happens when we reduce the time we spend sitting down. They found that cutting sedentary time by 30 minutes a day could prevent 3% of deaths in the high-risk group and 7.3% in the general population cohort. The results from the UK Biobank “were of a smaller magnitude but still substantial – eg, reducing sedentary time by 30 min/day in all except the most active participants was associated with preventing 4.5% of total deaths,” the study says.
This was an observational study, meaning a direct link between exercise and death prevention can’t be proved, and we don’t know how long to make these lifestyle changes for to see results. However, it does show the importance of moving our bodies daily for our overall health.
Why is moderate exercise so good?Improves our heart health: Exercise, such as power walking or walking at a brisk pace, is great for your cardiovascular health, lowering your risk of heart disease, stroke and high blood pressure.Reduces stress: We know that moving our bodies and getting out in the fresh air can do wonders for high cortisol levels, leaving us feeling more relaxed. Stress is associated with weight gain, poor sleep, depression and some more serious illnesses such as dementia, which is why walking, yoga and other types of exercise are great for long-term stress management.Boosts our brain health: “Compared to both low and very high-intensity workouts, moderate-intensity exercise leads to the greatest improvements in working memory, hand-eye coordination, and reaction time, particularly in older adults,” personal trainer Alina Cox previously told woman&home, pointing to a study in the Frontiers of Physiology Journal.Helps with weight management: Moderate exercise is obviously easier than vigorous exercise, meaning you can do it more often. This means you’ll burn more calories, helping you lose weight if that’s your goal. Strength training is also important for weight management, especially for women, to increase muscle mass and prevent bone density loss during and after menopause.
NHS guidelines suggest you can do vigorous-intensity exercise for 75 minutes instead of moderate-intensity exercise for 150 minutes a week, should you prefer. This higher intensity exercise includes activities, like cycling workouts, running, skipping rope, or other racket sports like singles tennis or pickleball.
