It’s Never Too Late to Get Moving

How 22 minutes of daily activity could save your life

Welcome back to Age Wise, exploring the science of improving physical health and mental wellness at every stage of life. And welcome to another big bunch of new subscribers. Let’s get going… literally…

Image: Pexels/Pavel Danilyuk

You know you should move more. But there you sit. Perhaps you’re not as young as you used to be, and you’ve succumbed to the false notion that your best days are behind you. In fact, science tells us that people get happier later in life, but how it goes for each of us is, to varying degrees, a matter of choice. Without question, one of the most important things you can do to ensure physical, mental and emotional well-being is to move more. Sure, sure, you know that. But know this:

And as my 83-year-old friend and champion powerlifter Mike Harrington would tell you, it is never too late to reap the benefits of physical activity. 

A nudge: People who get at least 22 minutes daily of moderate physical activity (150 minutes a week) have a 63% lower risk of heart failure, scientists reported recently in the journal Circulation. The risk is 66% lower for those who cut their time investment to just 75 minutes or more per week but increase the effort to vigorous levels.

“These findings indicate that every physical movement counts. A leisurely, 10-minute walk is better than sitting and no physical activity,” said study co-leader Frederick Ho, PhD, who researches and lectures on public health at the University of Glasgow in Scotland. “And, if possible, try to walk a little faster, which increases the intensity and potential benefits of exercise.”

You can read more about this study and the many other ways a little movement goes a long ways toward making us healthier and happier, in my article on Medium. Or you can just get out and get moving. Nudge, nudge.

If you can’t stand “exercise,” that’s OK. In fact, it’s normal to despise exercise. From an evolutionary standpoint, we’re not programmed to pump iron or jog for no reason. We’re supposed to be out hunting and gathering. “Exercise is like learning algebra,” Harvard University evolutionary biologist and paleoanthropologist Daniel Lieberman once told me. “It can be useful, but we never evolved to do it.”

Alas, modern life has gotten way too easy for most of us. As I reflected recently, during 24-days of “primitive living” when my wife and I drove the backroads of the West and camped far from civilization most of the time:

In a century-long blink of human history, modern inventions have made the act of getting by immeasurably easier for the vast majority of humans, particularly Westerners. By one estimate, the average American gets 27 minutes less moderate to vigorous physical activity these days compared to two centuries ago, even counting all the people who jog, hit the gym or otherwise engage in the arguably screwy notion of exercise to counteract the lack of physical effort required by modern life.

If your job does not require physical effort, and you’re otherwise not active, it’s vital that you find something fun to do that gets you moving. Pickleball, indoor rock climbing, kayaking, biking, gardening—whatever, it all counts.

No matter how old you are, or what sort of shape you’re in, moving more tomorrow than you did yesterday, even by a little, starts the process of lifting your mood and bolstering your immune system to help you live a longer, healthier, happier life. Now go, get out there, and do something.

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I hope you find this newsletter useful, and I look forward to sharing new insights with you next time. Consider forwarding this to a friend, and I won’t complain if you buy me a cup of coffee.

—Rob