With the demands of being an adult, free time can be scarce. Many of us wonder, “I can hardly find time to make dinner, so how can I regularly exercise during the week?” The health advantages of exercise, such as lowering the risk of chronic conditions like heart disease and dementia, might seem unattainable because of the demands of work and life. However, a recent study in the journal Nature Aging brings encouraging news for those who find it difficult to include regular exercise in their weekday routine. The research indicates that “weekend warriors,” who get most of their exercise on the weekend, might enjoy similar brain and mental health benefits as those who exercise regularly throughout the week. A research group from China examined data from over 75,000 individuals in the UK Biobank, a comprehensive study observing the health of around half a million people in the UK. More than 100,000 of them used wearable activity trackers.
The average participant age in this study was 62. Data was collected via wrist-worn devices to monitor physical activity patterns for seven days. Participants were categorized into three groups: inactive, who did not meet the recommended 150 minutes of moderate-to-vigorous activity per week; regularly active, who met the guidelines with activity spread over the week; and weekend warriors, who achieved the guidelines by accumulating over 50% of their activity on one or two days (not necessarily Saturday and Sunday, but any one or two days of the week). Participants were tracked for a median of 8.4 years using GP records, hospitalization data, and mortality records to monitor the development of neurological diseases (such as dementia, stroke, and Parkinson’s disease) and psychological disorders (including depression and anxiety). The researchers adjusted for several key lifestyle and health factors that could affect these outcomes, such as age, sex, smoking status, alcohol intake, diet, and histories of illnesses like diabetes, hypertension, and cancer.
Among the 75,500 participants, about 24,300 were inactive, 21,200 were regularly active, and 30,000 were weekend warriors. The findings indicated that, compared to inactive adults, weekend warriors had a 26% lower risk of developing dementia, a 21% lower risk of stroke, and a 45% lower risk of Parkinson’s disease. Their risk for depression and anxiety was 40% and 37% lower, respectively, compared to those who were inactive. These outcomes for the weekend warrior group were similar to those for people who were regularly active. The protective effects against depression and anxiety were uniform across age groups, both below and above 65. However, the reductions in risk for dementia, stroke, and Parkinson’s disease were noticeably significant in people over 65, showcasing the substantial benefits of physical activity for older people, who are more prone to these conditions. What if weekends aren’t available for exercise due to job, family responsibilities, or other commitments?
Luckily, the researchers examined different patterns of the weekend warrior lifestyle. They discovered that as long as people accumulated the bulk of their moderate-to-vigorous physical activity on one or two non-consecutive days of the week, they attained similar health benefits. In a prior study also using UK Biobank data, researchers found that individuals who do most of their exercise in one or two days experience similar heart health benefits to those who distribute their physical activity more evenly through the week. And if traditional gym exercises don’t appeal to you, there’s still good news. The study used activity trackers that captured all types of activities, so regardless of how you achieve your moderate-to-vigorous physical activity, you could still gain health benefits. This matches a growing body of research showing that whether it’s short daily activities like climbing stairs or doing chores, walking in the park, or longer sessions of running or gym workouts, the health benefits are attainable for everyone. The researchers factored in various lifestyle and health factors, although it’s still possible that other factors might have influenced some of the associations. A limitation is that the study couldn’t evaluate how changes in physical activity over time could affect brain health. Previous research has established that even inactive people who increase their activity levels experience immediate health benefits.