#running - just 5 minutes/day are enough to increase life expectancy.

Runners may live an average three years longer than people who don’t run, according to new research. But, the best news from this study is that it appears that you can reap this benefit even if you run at slow speeds for mere minutes every day, the 15-year study suggests.

It’s not clear from the study whether the longer lifespan is directly caused by running. The researchers were only able to prove a strong link between running and living longer. There could be other reasons that runners live longer. It could be that healthy people are the ones who choose to run, noted the study’s authors. 

Current U.S. guidelines for physical activity call for a minimum of 75 minutes per week of running or other vigorous-intensity aerobic activity, or 30 minutes of moderate-intensity exercise most days of the week. But people who exercised less than that still received significant health benefits, according to the new research.

Running modest amounts each week — less than 51 minutes, fewer than 6 miles, slower than 6 miles per hour, or only one to two times — was still associated with solid health benefits compared to no running, the researchers reported in the Aug. 5 issue of the Journal of the American College of Cardiology.

The study involved more than 55,000 adults aged 18 to 100, who were followed during a 15-year period to determine whether there is a relationship between running and longevity. About one quarter of this group were runners. Participants were asked to complete a questionnaire about their running habits, and researchers kept track of those who died during the study period.

The researchers discovered that people who didn’t run had a life expectancy three years less than that of runners. Running was linked to a 30% lower risk of death from any cause and a 45% lower risk of death from heart disease or stroke, compared to no running. Even less-avid runners received significant benefits. Running a minimum 30 minutes to 59 minutes each week — which equates to just 5 to 10 minutes a day — was associated with a 28% lower overall risk of death and a 58% reduced risk of death from heart disease, compared with no running. However, runners need to keep at it. Persistent runners — those who had been running regularly for an average of six years — had the greatest benefit, according to the study. Improved heart and lung function appears to be key to running’s health benefits.

Dr. Michael Scott Emery, co-chair of the American College of Cardiology’s Sports and Exercise Cardiology Council, found it “a little surprising that 5 or 10 minutes of running had such an impact on health.” 

He noted, however, that running does have more potential for injury than walking, including joint problems, ankle sprains, shin splints, back pain and muscle pulls. People might gain similar benefits from walking the same distance for a longer period of time: one has to find a proper, a balance so that people interested in running should start out slow and build up over time.