Exercise Intensity Reduces the Risk of Early Death

A new study reveals that putting extra strain on your body during exercise is more important than just doing another session and reduces the risk of early death. Researchers from the University of Basel in Switzerland and the University of Leicester in the UK have shown that the intensity of the exercises you perform may be more crucial than the amount of time you spend on physical activity, according to the scientific journal Science Alert.

The team gathered fitness tracking information over three years, covering a total of 7,518 adults in the U.S., with mortality data recorded for an additional four years afterward.

It was found that higher-intensity physical activity is associated with a relative reduction in the risk of early death from all causes, but the difference was more pronounced when it came to cardiovascular diseases – such as strokes, arterial diseases, and other heart problems.

According to Fabian Schwendinger, a professor of sports science at the University of Basel: “High-intensity exercises stimulate the cardiovascular system more.”

He adds, “This improves blood vessel function, cardiorespiratory fitness… as well as the performance of the cardiovascular and respiratory systems.”

The study suggests that increasing the pace of regular running or using stairs instead of elevators are two ways you can enhance your daily activity in a healthy manner. For example, brisk walking for an additional 150 minutes per week could reduce the risk of death by up to 28%. That’s a significant benefit for relatively little extra effort.

This research aligns with previous studies that found increasing exercise intensity can have positive health effects, although the study also compared this directly with the total duration of exercise.

Fabian Schwendinger says: “One of the great strengths of our study is that it included people with very different levels of fitness and health.”

“This means that everyone, whether they are highly athletic or inactive, can benefit from knowing that intensity reduces mortality.”

The study authors also found that high-intensity physical activity appears to be more beneficial when performed in a single session, rather than spread out throughout the day.

According to the study, doing more exercise at any intensity is beneficial. Additionally, there is something called overtraining. There will come a time when intense exercise won’t provide you with any additional years at the end of your life, and it might actually start to harm your body.

Fabian Schwendinger concludes: “It’s not just that people live longer if they train extremely intensively, exhausting their strength and going beyond their limits.”