Short stints of intense exercise are better for the heart than just plodding along, according to a study that suggests turning it up a gear could add an extra five years to someone’s life.
The Danish research adds to evidence that moderate exertion, while clearly beneficial, might not be all that is needed to give the best level of protection against cardiovascular disease.
Academics who monitored the health of 5,000 people in Copenhagen who cycled regularly for 20 years, found that most benefit was gained from pedalling intensively for short periods.
Men who said they rode fast could expect to live 5.3 years longer than those who said they rode slowly, while for such women the figure was 3.9 years.
Men who believed they rode at an average speed could expect another 2.9 years of life, and such women 2.2 years.
Dr Peter Schnohr, from Bispebjerg University Hospital, told the annual meeting of the European Society of Cardiology in Paris: “It is the intensity, not the duration, of cycling that is of the greatest importance in relation to all forms of mortality, or longevity, and it is even more pronounced for coronary heart disease.”
The analysis, based on data from the Copenhagen City Heart Study, suggested those who cycled fast for between half an hour and an hour a day were likely to live longest.
Relative to slow cyclists, they had a 56 per cent lower risk of dying overall during the study period, which included a 74 per cent lower risk of dying from coronary heart disease.
The study was based on people without health problems such as high blood pressure or diabetes, aged 20 to 90.
Dr Schnohr argued that governments should advise people to take activity in more vigorous bursts as well as taking regular moderate exercise.
However, the research met with caution from Prof Peter Weissberg, medical director at the British Heart Foundation.
He warned that it could be dangerous for inactive people to simply get up and start doing hard exercise. “I would hate the message to get out in the UK that people who are not used to cycling should start doing it short and sharp,” he said.
He said it was interesting in relation to people who already cycled but most people in Britain were not that active.
“Current guidelines say that you’ve got to do sufficient exercise to get your heart rate up and get slightly breathless,” he added.
Þ Poor sleep quality greatly increases the risk of high blood pressure in older men, a study has found.
A lack of deep sleep was found to raise the risk by 80 per cent over a period of 3.4 years.
Researchers measured how long 784 men with an average age of 75 spent in “slow wave sleep”, a deep stage of sleep from which it is difficult to awaken.
Those for whom SWS took up less than four per cent of sleep time were significantly more likely to develop high blood pressure. The findings were reported in the American Heart Association journal Hypertension.
Source: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/health/healthnews/8730084/Dont-just-plod-if-you-want-a-longer-life-say-heart-experts.html
Relative to slow cyclists, they had a 56 per cent lower risk of dying overall during the study period, which included a 74 per cent lower risk of dying from coronary heart disease.
The study was based on people without health problems such as high blood pressure or diabetes, aged 20 to 90.
Dr Schnohr argued that governments should advise people to take activity in more vigorous bursts as well as taking regular moderate exercise.
However, the research met with caution from Prof Peter Weissberg, medical director at the British Heart Foundation.
He warned that it could be dangerous for inactive people to simply get up and start doing hard exercise. “I would hate the message to get out in the UK that people who are not used to cycling should start doing it short and sharp,” he said.
He said it was interesting in relation to people who already cycled but most people in Britain were not that active.
“Current guidelines say that you’ve got to do sufficient exercise to get your heart rate up and get slightly breathless,” he added.
Þ Poor sleep quality greatly increases the risk of high blood pressure in older men, a study has found.
A lack of deep sleep was found to raise the risk by 80 per cent over a period of 3.4 years.
Researchers measured how long 784 men with an average age of 75 spent in “slow wave sleep”, a deep stage of sleep from which it is difficult to awaken.
Those for whom SWS took up less than four per cent of sleep time were significantly more likely to develop high blood pressure. The findings were reported in the American Heart Association journal Hypertension.
Source: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/health/healthnews/8730084/Dont-just-plod-if-you-want-a-longer-life-say-heart-experts.html
