Dr. Rhonda Patrick: Let us discuss short bursts of physical activity, beginning with studies of vigorous intermittent lifestyle physical activity, or VILPA. We have discussed these studies before, and Martin Gibala, a co-author on some of the papers, has appeared on the podcast.

Researchers use accelerometers to measure brief bursts of movement that people may not recall when asked about their physical activity during the previous week. Examples include carrying groceries up three flights of stairs, running to catch a subway, or playing energetically with a puppy. These activities raise the heart rate during everyday life. They are not necessarily structured exercise snacks, although exercise snacks are another way to create a similar stimulus.

Evidence linking these brief bursts to health outcomes is accumulating. I have cited one Nature Medicine study many times, so some listeners will have heard me discuss it before.

Brady Holmer: You are probably responsible for a large number of that article's downloads.

Dr. Rhonda Patrick: It is a popular study. These VILPA bouts can last from one to three minutes and occur several times a day as part of ordinary life. One of the most notable findings involved people at the upper end of that range. They accumulated roughly three bouts of three minutes each, or about nine minutes of vigorous activity, every day.

That amount was associated with about a 50% lower risk of cardiovascular mortality, a 40% lower risk of all-cause mortality, and a 40% lower risk of cancer mortality. These are robust associations, especially compared with studies that rely on participants' memory of their structured exercise during the previous week. Accelerometers capture the movement that actually occurred.

Another study examined cardiovascular risk in women. About 3.4 minutes of VILPA per day was associated with a 45% lower risk of major cardiovascular events and a 67% lower risk of heart failure compared with no VILPA. That is very little time.

Many of us have aging parents who might benefit from four minutes of vigorous activity a day. Retired adults may not be running for a subway, so they could use structured exercise snacks instead. Depending on a person's age and ability, examples might include jumping jacks, chair squats, burpees, body-weight squats, or push-ups.

VILPA means vigorous intermittent lifestyle physical activity. It is movement accumulated during daily life, not a formal Peloton workout, and researchers measure it with an accelerometer. In one analysis, outcomes among roughly 62,000 people who reported structured exercise were comparable to outcomes associated with VILPA among non-exercisers. The body responds to movement whether or not it occurs in a formal workout.

Brady Holmer: Many of those studies specifically included people who reported no regular structured exercise. The non-exercisers still benefited from VILPA, with associations similar to those seen among exercisers. That finding changed my view.

I previously thought that people needed at least 15 minutes of exercise and that a session shorter than 30 to 45 minutes was almost a waste of time for general health. A competition goal still requires dedicated training, but the evidence for health outcomes now shows that activity lasting less than 10 minutes can matter.

Physical activity guidelines used to recommend 75 to 150 minutes of vigorous activity or 150 to 300 minutes of moderate activity performed in bouts lasting at least 10 minutes. The minimum bout requirement was removed. Activity can now be accumulated in shorter bouts, including periods lasting one to four minutes.

My advice is no longer that every session must last at least 30 minutes. The goal is to accumulate as much activity as possible across the day. The body does not use a clock to decide whether movement counts. It responds to the total activity and physiological stimulus.

Dr. Rhonda Patrick: I recently discussed this with someone who wants to be healthy but hates exercise. The person was relieved that short bursts of running with a dog or playing actively with a child still count. That message does not discourage structured exercise. It recognizes unstructured activity and encourages people to keep doing it because it adds up.

The VILPA studies changed my view as well. I once believed that exercise required dedicated, structured time with a sustained increase in heart rate. At first, it was difficult to reconcile nine minutes a day, or about 63 minutes a week, with an association of roughly 50% lower cardiovascular mortality when the guideline minimum was 75 vigorous minutes a week.

The newer evidence suggests that earlier estimates undervalued the benefit associated with vigorous activity. The original guideline calculations were not based directly on accelerometer-measured intensity linked with health outcomes. These studies provide empirical data on how vigorous daily movement relates to those outcomes, which makes them important.