There's More Time Than We Think

(graphic whooshing) (mouse clicking) (tranquil music) Headspace Studios. (tranquil electronic music) Hi, it's Gretchen Reynolds here. Welcome to Radio Headspace, and to Friday. Thanks so much for having me as your guest host this week, it's been great to share all the ways that movement can improve our lives. Now, I know that it's difficult to fit in a workout, but the good news is that we don't have to spend a lot of time exercising. So today, let's get into how long we really need to move, in order to reap the benefits of exercise, how to incorporate some physical activity into a busy routine, and some tips to stay motivated. So how much should we be exercising during the day? There've been studies showing that four seconds of exercise actually has an impact on health, but there's a trade-off between what scientists call the duration and the intensity of your exercise. If you want to do a really short workout, you can get tons of health benefits from it by making it intense. So instead of going for a walk, you go for a run, or even better, you sprint. But if you don't enjoy intense exercise, you can get the exact same benefits by doing easier exercise for a bit longer. The question is, of course, how long? The best science suggests if you want to accumulate moderate exercise like going for a brisk walk, going up and down the stairs if you just stroll on them, you need about 30 minutes of exercise over the course of a day. That doesn't have to come in one big clump. There's growing evidence that you can accumulate exercise in any amount, and that means 30 seconds, one minute, preferably two minutes. Anything that you can manage counts. Repeated studies have shown that in some ways, getting your exercise throughout the day is actually better for your health than one 30-minute walk. It helps you control your blood sugar a little better, it helps your blood pressure to stay lower. Repeated bouts of very short exercise can improve endurance, they can improve muscle health, they can improve attention, and for most of us, doing two minutes of moderate exercise is not likely to result in a lot of sweating and other issues related to that that might disturb our coworkers. But if you find that that is actually too intense if you're working in an office, then dial back the intensity, that's fine. The amount of exercise should still add up to about 30 minutes a day if possible. (tranquil music) There's also research showing that most of the health benefits of exercise, and that means its effects on your blood pressure, your blood sugar, your brain health, your disease risk, most of those benefits come in about the first 20 minutes of exercise, especially if you're new to exercising, to being active. After that, the benefits start leveling off, so keep exercising after 20 minutes or 30 minutes if...