A sedentary lifestyle eventually takes a toll on health but snapping out of prolonged inactivity can be daunting. Now, however, there may be a simple way to ease into more activity. A recent study suggests that short bursts of vigorous activity every day—climbing stairs, carrying a heavy load of groceries, or stepping up the pace of housework—can provide substantial health benefits. The University of Sydney exercise scientist Emmanuel Stamatakis, who led the research, says "majority of the people, but also many health professionals still think of physical activity as something that you do during your free time, and you need to go somewhere to do it." "In recent years, there's an acknowledgement and increased emphasis on the idea that all activity counts," he says. But the outcomes are intensity-dependent. His team found that engaging in three one-minute bursts of intense physical activity every day can lower a person's risk of death by up to 40 percent. Such short but vigorous periods of activity similarly reduced the chances of dying from cancer or cardiovascular disease. Stamatakis and his colleagues were keen to understand if daily life activities done somewhat vigorously in short bouts could also provide health benefits to a sedentary or less active lifestyle. To study this, his team used data from Fitbit-like devices worn by nearly 25,000 adults who identified as non-exercisers. Over the course of seven days, they used machine learning tools to determine whether a person was either sedentary, standing, walking, or engaging in high-intensity activities like running. The researchers also categorized any movement into light, moderate, or high intensity. The team found that people who engaged in at least four one-to-two-minute, high intensity physical activity bursts every day had a nearly 40 percent less risk of dying from cancer and a roughly 49 percent lower chance of dying from a cardiovascular disease. Edward Coyle, an exercise physiologist at the University of Texas, has been exploring how four-second bursts of rigorous physical activity can offset harmful effects of sitting for prolonged periods. He conducted a small study in which young adults pedaled a stationary exercise bike as fast as they could five times every hour for four-second sprints over an eight-hour study period. His team noted that these tiny bursts of activity improved fat metabolism. He said he was surprised to find how effective these four-second spurts were and they were equally effective to doing 30 minutes of continuous exercise.