Everyday activities like walking up the stairs or playing with children could help lower the risk of heart attack, stroke and even premature death, new research suggests. The experts found that although short bouts of incidental activity are good for you, the how long you do them for, and how vigorously makes a difference. The findings may make physical activity much more accessible to people who are unwilling or unable to take part in structured exercise, researchers say. They found that the longer the bouts of activity, the better, regardless of total activity levels. The large majority (97%) of this everyday physical activity, like walking to the bus stop or household chores, was made up in bouts lasting less than 10 minutes. In a group of people who said they did not take part in exercise or sport, short bouts of less than 10 minutes at a moderate to vigorous intensity were associated with a steep decrease in heart attack and stroke, and death by any cause. According to the findings, moving consistently for at least one to three minutes was linked to significantly more benefit (29% lower) than very short bouts of movement that lasted less than one minute. Senior author Professor Emmanuel Stamatakis from the University of Sydney’s Charles Perkins Centre, in Australia, said: “From walking up the stairs to speedily mopping the floors, in recent years we’ve come to understand that it is not just structured exercise that is good for our health, but we know very little about how these short bouts of incidental activity translate to health benefits.” He added: “The take-home message here is any type of activity is good for your health, but the more effort you put into those daily tasks and the longer you keep up that energy, the more benefits you are likely to reap. “If you are huffing and puffing and unable to hold a conversation for some of that time you have hit the sweet spot.” Lead author Dr Matthew Ahmadi said: “The idea of accruing short bouts of moderate to vigorous activity through daily living activities makes physical activity much more accessible to people who are unwilling or unable to take part in structured exercise. But as we see in this data, the length and the vigour people put into these incidental activities matters.” The risk of all-cause death and major cardiovascular events (heart attack or stroke) was 29-44% lower for activity periods of five minutes to less than 10 minutes, than bouts of less than one minute. The study, published in The Lancet Public Health, also found that the higher the amount of vigorous activity in each bout the better. People who huffed and puffed for at least 15% of the activity period (10 seconds per minute) saw the greatest benefit. Bouts of less than one minute were also associated with benefits if the above 15% vigorous activity rule was applied, researchers found. The researchers used data from wrist devices worn by 25,241 people aged 42 to 78, in the UK Biobank database, and artificial intelligence to analyse the seven-day physical activity patterns in people who said they did not exercise. The study linked these physical activity patterns with health records, following people for close to eight years to identify how length and intensity of physical activity bouts were linked to health status. Dr Ahmadi added: “This study suggests people could potentially reduce their risk of major cardiac events by engaging in daily living activities of at least moderate intensity where they are ideally moving continuously for at least one to three minutes at a time. “In fact, it appears that this can have comparable health benefits to longer bouts lasting five to 10 minutes.” Read More Charity boss speaks out over ‘traumatic’ encounter with royal aide Ukraine war’s heaviest fight rages in east - follow live From tiredness to sweating – subtle warning signs something could be wrong with your heart Breast Cancer Awareness Month: 9 brilliant beauty buys supporting good causes Smokers 2.6 times more likely to give birth prematurely

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Manchester United midfielder Mason Mount admits his side need a clear improvement after suffering their worst start to a Premier League season. Not since the 1989-90 campaign, when Sir Alex Ferguson was reportedly one game away from the sack, have United lost four of their first seven league fixtures. But Joachim Andersen’s first-half goal for Palace inflicted the same fate on the current crop, which left the Old Trafford faithful booing at the end. Mount, who made his Premier League return after six weeks out with injury, says United must get better. “We know we need to win these games and it’s been a difficult start,” the England international told the club’s website. “As soon as they got the goal, they defended really well, they got bodies behind the ball and made it difficult to create. We had a few chances but it wasn’t enough. “We know we need to go back and look at the areas that we need to improve on – and we need to improve because we want to win games, we want to win every competition we’re in, we want to go right to the end. So it’s a tough one to take. “It was a tough start with the injury and a frustrating one but I used that time to look at areas where I could improve and coming back in the team last game, it felt good. “But you don’t want to lose games and, especially at home with the fans, we want to perform for them and win games for them. And yeah, we need to improve. We need to go away and look at some areas that just weren’t there. “But there are games coming thick and fast now. Every three days we’re playing in different competitions and this is a new start. The Champions League at home under the lights – it’s an exciting one to play in and hopefully we can perform and win that game now.” Andersen’s brilliant goal – a sweet first-time finish at the back post from an Eberechi Eze set-piece – proved enough for Palace to earn revenge for their Carabao Cup defeat at Old Trafford earlier in the week. And he enjoyed his match-winning moment. “That goal, for me personally, is something I’ll remember,” Andersen told the club’s official website. “It’s something that I need to improve on. I need to score more goals because I’m capable of scoring goals. I have the desire to score. I think I have a pretty good strike actually. I know I’m capable of scoring goals. “It was a good cross from Ebs and I just felt that someone would get a touch and I just sensed where the ball would fall, like a good striker would do, and I hit it really well. Amazing goal.” Read More Charity boss speaks out over ‘traumatic’ encounter with royal aide Ukraine war’s heaviest fight rages in east - follow live On This Day in 2009 – Emmanuel Adebayor fined for celebration against Arsenal Ryder Cup day three: Europe aim to seal victory with dominant display in singles Gregor Townsend hails Scotland for keeping World Cup bid alive after early loss

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