Cover A new study suggests that moving your body in some capacity for just 11 minutes per day can be the key to ensuring longevity. (Photo: Unsplash)

It may be easier than researchers had previously assumed to carve out the time needed to benefit from an active lifestyle

Struggling to find the time to build a workout into your day-to-day routine? Well, it might be much easier than you might have thought to ensure you’re doing enough physical activity to ensure longevity. A new study conducted by the Norwegian School of Sports Medicine suggests that it might be as simple as moving your body in some capacity for just 11 minutes per day.

The research followed 44,370 participants for a period of up to 14 years while observing their respective time spent being sedentary versus engaging in physical activity of some sort—and as it turns out, reaping the benefits of an active lifestyle is much more achievable than previous studies suggested.

The results showed that participants who exercised for 35 minutes each day saw the biggest difference on lifespan—but those who engaged in just 11 minutes each day were still significantly healthier than those who were less active.

So what does that mean for our day-to-day workout habits? Well, that 15-minute YouTube yoga class during your lunch break or brisk walk to the office may actually be adding years to your life.

“Higher sedentary time is associated with higher mortality in less active individuals,” the study explained, adding that while 30-40 minutes of movement per day is the peak in terms of seeing results (which is still lower than previous estimates), the key is to simply reduce sedentary time and move consistently on a daily basis.

So whether opting to walk or cycle to work rather than take public transit, committing to a morning yoga practice, or doing a quick YouTube fitness class before going to bed, those seemingly small move goals will have a big impact.

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