Engaging in short exercises, even for just a few minutes a day, improves your health. It may be hard to believe, but doing them several times a day can have a positive impact on your health and physical fitness.
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You can achieve this by exercising in short intervals, known as "Exercise snacks," which range from 30 seconds to five or ten minutes maximum, and include almost any kind of movement. Think of activities like climbing stairs, walking, or performing squats.
This term is believed to have been used for the first time in 2007 by cardiologist Dr. Howard Hartley, who was then an assistant professor at Harvard Medical School.
Today, numerous studies prove the value of these short exercises. A small study published in Exercise and Sport Sciences Reviews in January 2022 showed that doing short exercises, lasting between 15 and 30 seconds, three times a day, improves cardiovascular fitness and performance in inactive adults. The study's light and short exercises included stair climbing and cycling, as reported on CNN Arabic.
A study conducted in July 2023 on 22,398 individuals found that adults who reported not exercising experienced a 17% to 18% decrease in cancer rates after starting to engage in intense physical activity for 3.4 to 3.6 minutes daily. Their daily physical activity was performed in intervals not exceeding one or two minutes. According to the study published in JAMA Oncology, engaging in 4.5 minutes of intense, intermittent physical activity daily was linked to a 31% to 32% reduction in cancer risk.
The benefits of movement extend to brain health as well. Engaging in moderate to vigorous physical activity daily, or even adding a small amount of it to your existing routine, reduces the risk of dementia, according to a study published in JAMDA in March. Those who hadn’t previously done moderate to vigorous exercise gained the most benefit.
Michael Bates, a personal trainer and manager of TrainFitness in London, believes that "doing anything is better than doing nothing. As long as you're moving for some time, with a little bit of strain on your body, it will adapt and improve."
Short-duration exercises are a preferred tool used by Dr. Subatra Tofar, a specialist in holistic clinical health psychology in California, USA.
Dr. Tofar says, “I’m a strong advocate for behavior change that starts small. So, I like to help my clients create simple, accessible, and actionable behaviors that they can implement almost every day of the week.”
She adds that the key to establishing small, new changes lies in linking them to a daily habit you already do at the same time. For example, if you brush your teeth when you wake up, start doing some jumping exercises or lunges right after putting your toothbrush aside.
Once you get used to walking daily, you can progress to doing it in short intervals, increasing your speed for 20 seconds and slowing down for 10 seconds, repeating this pattern.
Bates confirms: "Push your body a little more each time, and then your body will adapt and improve."
But don't just rely on walking—wall push-ups strengthen your arms, while squats are great for boosting leg strength. If you want to climb stairs without getting out of breath, start going up and down a bit faster than usual.
Bates says, “There’s always a light exercise that can help improve every part of your body in some way.”
Dr. Tofar points to people living in “Blue Zones,” regions around the world where people routinely live long, healthy lives, such as Okinawa in Japan and Sardinia in Italy.
She says, “They move all the time and engage in NEAT (Non-Exercise Activity Thermogenesis) movements throughout the day,” whether that’s walking to the store, sitting in the park, or doing household chores.
She also adds that these movements can "burn about 2,000 extra calories per day if you are constantly moving throughout the day."
