Moving for Two Minutes Every Hour

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While this newsletter will ultimately cover a pretty wide array of topics in health, nutrition, fitness, and longevity, I thought it would be appropriate to start by discussing a very simple, very actionable way we can all actually move to actually improve. I believe movement will heal us. Let’s jump in.

A few months ago, I came across an article that presented data showing that just getting up and moving for two minutes every hour can result in a substantial decrease in the risk of mortality (aka death)—by up to 33%!

Let’s set the stage. We all know we should probably be exercising a bit more than we currently are if we want to stay in good health and live long, high-quality lives. By some estimates, only about 20% of Americans are getting the recommended 150 minutes (2.5 hours) per week of moderate-to-vigorous intensity physical activity to promote good health. Assuming we are hitting that goal, and we’re awake 16 hours per day, even that accounts for only 2.5 out of 112 weekly waking hours. What are we doing the other 109.5? Most likely sitting.

I’m not starting this newsletter by telling everyone to run a marathon three months from now. I’m talking ~bare minimum~ movement here. Like, “Oh look, it’s 10:58am! Let me walk down the hall to use the restroom or go downstairs to wash my mug real quick,” level. It’s got to be a little more than just standing up… but not much. Baby steps.

After studying thousands of participants’ movement patterns, researchers in this study found that interrupting sedentary time (time where you're not moving—not sedimentary, that's the rocks, silly) with 1 to 5 minutes of “light intensity” activity—such as casual walking, light gardening, or cleaning—had a major positive impact on mortality. If you consider 0 minutes of light activity per hour a “hazard ratio” for mortality (a science term, I’m sorry) of 1.0, people who moved for two minutes per hour dropped that number to 0.67 (33% lower). Those who moved five minutes every hour dropped their hazard ratio even further, to 0.37 (a 63% risk reduction)! Obviously it would be optimal if you could combine these few minutes of light intensity activity every hour with reaching the weekly target of 2.5 hours of intentional moderate-to-vigorous activity. But like I said, we’re starting small for week one. Anything is better than nothing, and this study shows that beautifully.

The Nuance: Now, granted, yes—this is an “association” with mortality. It would be foolish to assume that if you strictly follow this method, each one of you will be precisely 33% less likely to die of metabolic, inflammatory, or cardiovascular diseases (woah, another string of big words, sorry again) in the next few years. But it would also be foolish to assume that decreasing your sedentary time will not have a positive impact on your health. We’re all about nuance here. Black and white dichotomies have no place in a topic as complex as your health. This was a very legitimate study conducted by scientists far more educated than myself. Basically, you can trust them on this one.

Some of you reading this may have active jobs where you’re already on your feet and moving around for a lot of the day. If so, that’s great! I’d love for you to consider how active you are outside of that “9 to 5.” Do you spend every weeknight and weekend in a “checked out” state on the couch? Don’t get me wrong—rest and recovery are important. But light activity is still restful and healing! This is my encouragement to you to break up those strings of 3, 4, 5+ hours being sedentary. Finish an episode? Go put some dishes away and give the dog some water or take them out. Finish a chapter? Go play with a kid in your life! Hit that “stop scrolling” TikTok for the third time? Take a step outside for fresh air, walk a lap around your house or apartment, and stretch your hips before you sit back down. Or one of my personal favorites: put on your favorite songs and have a kitchen dance party! 🕺🏼 (Links to a few of my fave dance playlists here and here and here)

Want even more bang for your buck? Go on a 10+ minute walk after every meal. This has a huge impact on your blood sugar and insulin spike after eating, which, repeated over time, can drastically reduce your risk of inflammation-related diseases and issues. More on this in a future article 😉

Our bodies are meant to move. They’re actually quite good at it if we give them practice. There are a million underlying mechanisms taking place inside your body at all times that you’re not consciously aware of. In fact, we’re not really able to perceive the majority of what makes up our “health” until it reaches a breaking point where we experience either pain or disease. That’s why taking small steps (pun intended) now is so important!

When we keep our bodies moving, we keep our bodies improving. And this means a better quantity and quality of life, so you can prioritize what and who matter most to you.

✅ Take Action

Every newsletter's Take Action section will invite you to take small steps to improve your health. Recognizing that we all have different capabilities, I'll offer three different levels of action you can choose to take.

Level 1: If you work a mostly sedentary job, whether at home or the office, set some sort of timer every hour of your workday this week; it could be at every hour:58, for example. Get up from your position, stand tall, and simply walk around for two minutes. Between trips to the restroom, tidying up, refilling a drink, household chores, and getting a breath of fresh air, you’ll be surprised at all the easy ways to utilize those two minutes!

Level 2: If you already have a fairly active day job, try going one step further by incorporating regular movement into your early mornings, evenings, and weekends. Don’t let yourself stay sedentary for hours on end without breaking it up with some light activity.

Level 3: Want to optimize? Aim for that 2.5 hours, 30 min/day for 5 days, of moderate-to-vigorous activity (even brisk walking counts!) in addition to moving for two minutes every hour.

This newsletter is brought to you by… me! Interested in becoming a sponsor? Know someone else who might be? I’d love to get to know you and/or your business and see how we can partner together. Reply to this email!

✍️ Drew's Picks:

• You’ll probably see me recommend the Look Good, Move Well podcast a lot, as it’s one of my favorites in the realm of health and fitness. As we’ve entered week 2 of the new year, let this episode with Marcus Filly and Satya Khan be an encouragement for all you can do and be in the year ahead!

If you liked this article and thought of someone else who might benefit from it too, would you please forward this email to them, or text them a link to sign up? It would mean the world to me and help build our community so we can impact more lives.

That’s all for this week! Feel free to reply and let me know any thoughts or questions you have, how this week's action steps went for you, or any future topic suggestions. Thanks for joining me!

Keep moving,

Drew

The content in Move to Improve is meant to be informative in nature, but it should not be taken as medical advice. It is always a good idea to consult with a trusted health professional before making any major lifestyle changes that could have a significant impact on your health. This is not a medical resource, and any opinions and articles are not intended for use as diagnosis, prevention, and/or treatment of health problems. They are not substitutes for consulting a qualified medical professional. Please think critically and take what I say with a grain of salt (aka don’t sue me).