Short bursts of exercise help heart health

Doctors have long advised that people keep active as they get older. Exercise is good for the heart, which in turn is good for the brain. Photo / 123RF

Two-minute bursts of exercise are enough to benefit your heart, scientists have found.

They said that while longer spells of moderate exercise were good, there were "strong benefits" in repeated short bouts of intense activity such as star jumps. "The key is to get your heart rate up," they said.

The scientists, from Newcastle University, prescribed a regime of brief bouts of exercise to a group of Type 2 diabetes patients. They saw early signs of heart damage being repaired within 12 weeks.

Study leader Professor Michael Trenell said: "There is no reason why the benefits should not apply to other people."

Type 2 diabetes, often associated with obesity, leads to changes in the structure of the heart, increasing the chance of heart attack and strokes.

The researchers studied 12 patients doing short spells on a cycling machine, repeated five times, three times a week for 12 weeks.

At first, each bout lasted two minutes, but ten seconds were added every week until each spell lasted three minutes and 50 seconds.

Heart scans showed they had far more benefit than a group of 11 who did not do the exercises.

Professor Trenell said: "I am not saying short bursts of intense exercise are better than longer spells of moderate exercise - both are good.

"But it can be daunting for some people to contemplate a long period of exercise, so we have shown that short bouts can be effective."

- Daily Mail