Distributing your physical activity this way is particularly good for the brain and could even reduce the risk of stroke according to researchers.
We know that regular physical activity improves health. It strengthens the body’s endurance, resistance and flexibility. It contributes to good cardiovascular health by notably reducing hypertension and to good mental health. A Chinese study published on August 21, 2024 shows that the way you distribute your days of physical activity over a week has an influence on the brain. This could help us optimize our schedules.
The scientists analyzed data from the Biobank (an English public health data bank) from more than 75,000 people with an average age of 62 years. They tracked their physical activity habits over 7 days for a median period of 8 years. Several factors were taken into account: age, sex, smoking, alcohol consumption, diet and history of diseases. The researchers also consulted the subjects’ medical records, hospitalization data and death certificates to track the onset of neurological diseases (dementia, stroke and Parkinson’s disease) as well as psychological disorders (including depression and anxiety). The participants were classified into 3 groups:
► “Inactive” people: less than 2.5 hours of moderate to intense physical activity per week (moderate activity does not make you breathless (walking, cycling, gardening) while intense activity makes you breathless (brisk walking, running, aerobics) )
► Regular active people: at least 2.5 hours of activity per week spread over more than 2 days
► Weekend athletes: at least 2.5 hours of physical activity per week, the majority of which is concentrated over 1 to 2 days (for example 1 hour of sport on Saturday and 1.5 hours on Sunday)
According to results published in the journal “Nature Aging”, physical activity concentrated over 1 or 2 days would have beneficial effects similar to physical activity spread over 7 days. Thus in the study, weekend athletes had a 21% reduced risk of having a stroke compared to “inactive” people; 26% dementia; 37% anxiety; 40% of depression and 45% of developing Parkinson’s disease. These benefits were particularly pronounced in people over 65 years old.
These results suggest that exercising only on Saturdays and Sundays could be a viable alternative for those who cannot maintain a daily physical activity routine. If the weekend is too busy to do sports, simply concentrate this moment of effort equivalent to one or two other days during the week.