With only four minutes of exercise a day, middle-age women might reduce their risk of cardiovascular problems by nearly half. It’s the latest discovery from University of Sydney researchers, whose study was published in the British Journal of Sports Medicine.

“We found that a minimum of 1.5 minutes to an average of 4 minutes of daily vigorous physical activity, completed in short bursts lasting up to 1 minute, were associated with improved cardiovascular health outcomes in middle-aged women who do no structured exercise,” lead author professor Emmanuel Stamatakis told the University of Sydney.

“Vigorous intermittent lifestyle physical activity” refers to brief periods of intense activity incorporated into everyday life, ranging from climbing stairs to carrying in bags of groceries. University of Sydney researchers analyzed two years of physical activity tracker data from 22,368 participants ages 40 through 79 to discover women benefited from VILPA more than men.

“Importantly, the beneficial associations we observed were in women who committed to short bursts of VILPA almost daily,” Stamatakis said. “This highlights the importance of habit formation, which is not always easy. VILPA should not be seen as a quick fix — there are no magic bullets for health. But our results show that even a little bit higher intensity activity can help and might be just the thing to help people develop a regular physical activity — or even exercise — habit.”

According to the National Center for Health Statistics, only 24.2% of U.S. adults met the Physical Activity Guidelines for Americans in 2020. Men were 40% more likely to meet the standards than women.

Women who engaged in VILPA for an average 3.4 minutes a day during the study were 45% less likely to suffer from significant cardiovascular events, including heart attacks, than those that were inactive. Health benefits could be measured in women who participated in as little as 1.2 minutes of daily activity.

Men experienced benefits from VILPA, but on a smaller scale. At an average 5.6 minutes of daily activity, men were at a 16% lower risk of suffering a major cardiovascular event.

All the same, the research has shown healthier habits like taking the stairs over the elevator can potentially be life saving.