Many of us who want to exercise regularly struggle to find time to do so during the week. Instead, we often exercise only at the weekend, when we have more time to do so, which can sometimes make us feel guilty. However, new research suggests that exercising only at the weekend might be as good as doing the same amount of exercise during the week.

The World Health Organization (WHO) currently recommends that people do at least 150 minutes of moderate physical activity per week, or 75 minutes of vigorous physical activity. Moderate physical activity includes walking quickly or cycling, while vigorous physical activity includes running or playing sports such as tennis or soccer.

In January, researchers at Loughborough University in the UK published a study on health and exercise in the JAMA Internal Medicine Journal. They looked at data from about 64,000 adults over the age of 40 living in England and Scotland. The data was collected over a long period, between 1994 and 2012, and showed how much exercise people did per week. It also showed how many of those people died during that period. The researchers found that people who did the recommended amount of exercise were likely to live longer.

The surprising part of the study was that it didn’t seem to matter much whether people exercised regularly during the week, or only at the weekend. People who exercised regularly throughout the week were 35% less likely to die. Specifically, they were 41% less likely to die due to heart problems, and 18% less likely to die due to cancer. However, “Weekend Warriors”, people who exercise only at the weekend, were still 30% less likely to die, and the risk of death was reduced by 40% for heart problems and 21% for cancer.

Although the research shows that people who do more than 150 minutes of exercise a week had the most benefit, experts say that even a little bit of exercise can improve health. If you are too busy to exercise for 150 minutes, it is good to remember that just 40 minutes is better than 0 minutes.

There are many easy ways to increase the amount of exercise we do each week, even if we have very demanding jobs. For example, taking a longer route when walking to the train station or supermarket, or even getting off the train one stop earlier and walking a little further. Simply doing housework or taking a dog for a walk can also be a kind of exercise. A few simple lifestyle changes like this might be very simple, but they could actually help us live longer, and reduce the risk of heart problems and cancer.

For many people, it is difficult to find time to exercise during the week. Many people are “Weekend Warriors”. This means they exercise only at the weekend, when they have more time. People think being a “Weekend Warrior” is bad. However, new research says that exercising only at the weekend might be as good as doing the same amount of exercise during the week.

The World Health Organization (WHO) recommends that people do at least 150 minutes of light exercise per week, such as walking or riding a bicycle. Or, people can do 75 minutes of more active sports, such as running, or playing tennis or soccer.

In January, researchers at Loughborough University in the UK wrote a study about health and exercise in the JAMA Internal Medicine Journal. They studied data from about 64,000 people over the age of 40 living in England and Scotland. The data was from between 1994 and 2012, and it showed how much exercise people did per week. It also showed how many of those people died during that period. The researchers say that people who did the recommended amount of exercise usually lived longer.

However, there was a surprising part of the study too. It seemed that people who exercised only at the weekend were about as healthy as people who exercised during the week.

People who exercised regularly during the week had a 35% lower chance of dying. The chances of dying because of heart problems were 41% less, and the chances of dying of cancer were 18% less. However, “Weekend Warriors” still had a 30% lower chance of death. For them, the risk of death was 40% lower for heart problems and 21% lower for cancer.

The research shows that 150 minutes of exercise a week is best, but even a little bit of exercise is good for health. If you are too busy to exercise for 150 minutes, it is good to remember that just 40 minutes is better than 0 minutes.

There are many easy ways to exercise more each week, even if we are very busy. For example, walking and not driving, or getting off the train one stop earlier and walking. Cleaning the house or taking a dog for a walk can also be a kind of exercise. These kinds of changes are very simple, but they could help us live longer, and lower the risk of heart problems and cancer.