The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) suggests that Americans take at least 2-hours and 30- mins up to five hours per week of moderate physical exercise one hour, 15 minutes up to 2-hours and 30- minutes each week of vigorous exercise or a combination of both, as per the guidelines for physical activity in 2018.

Over seven days, that amounts roughly 21-42 minutes of moderate exercise per day and just a bit more than 10 – 21 minutes vigorous exercise.

A new study conducted by researchers from Harvard and other international universities found that exercise for longer periods of time every week brought more health benefits and, in particular “the greatest benefit from the reduction in mortality.”

Research suggests this is the most effective time for exercise

The researchers who carried out the study, which was published in the journal of the American Heart Association, Circulation, determined that the lower mortality rate was associated with between two and four times the amount of exercising as suggested by HHS.

According to their study, supported from the National Institutes of Health, the ideal amount of workouts every week is

  • Minimum 5 to 10 hour of light physical exercise (42 minutes to an hour and 25 mins fordaily)
  • Minimum of 2 hours, 30 mins to 5 hours of intense physical exercise (21-42 minutes per day)
  • A similar combination of two

The study followed more than 100k U.S. adults from 1988 through 2018 with questionnaires. Participants were asked questions about their age and race and weight, as well as the height of their family members, medical history and personal medical history smoking history, sleep duration and more.

The research showed that those who completed between 300 and 600 minutes, that’s 5-10 hours of moderate exercise each week, had 26%-31 percent lower mortality from all causes.

In particular, they experienced 28% to 38 percent less cardiovascular mortality, and 25 to 27% less non-cardiovascular deaths compared to those who did not or nearly zero exercise per week.

People who did 150-300 minutes of vigorous physical exercise every week experienced similar results 21 percent to 23% less all-cause mortality 27% to 33 percent lower mortality from cardiovascular causes and 19% less non-cardiovascular deaths.

The HHS recommends exercises for you to do. HHS:

According to HHS guidelines Here are a few easy methods to integrate the fitness exercise that you must do into your routine.


Moderate Physical Activity

  • Walking briskly
  • Doubles tennis is a sport that can be played
  • In the yard, raking


Active Physical Activity

  • Jogging
  • Running
  • Shoveling snow
  • Transporting heavy grocery items
  • In a fitness class that is strenuous

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