Walk up stairs to increase your life span

Walking up flights of stairs reduces the risk of dying.

A new study has found that short bursts of "incidental" activity - basic everyday tasks such as mopping floors at a fast pace - can help people stay healthy as they get older.

A team led by the University of Sydney tracked over 25,000 adults in the UK who did not participate in sport or exercise.

Participants wore wrist devices that measured their physical activity and short bouts of exercise were linked to a steep reduction in heart attacks and strokes, and death by any cause over a period of eight years.

Professor Emmanuel Stamatakis, senior author of the study, 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.”