Intermittent Stair Climbing Improves Fitness

In a recent study, British researchers confirmed that some exercise is better than nothing.

Researchers found that for sedentary people, even a few minutes of daily stair climbing - a vigorous but easily accessible form of exercise - can improve cardiovascular health.

Previous studies have shown that accumulating short bouts of exercise can make a difference; this one shows just how short those bouts can be.

Twenty-two sedentary college-aged women walked up 199 steps - more than you’re likely to find at home, but doable in a high-rise - in 2.25 minutes, a “brisk but comfortable” pace which shot their heart rates up to 90 percent of their predicted maximum.

They progressed from one ascent per day during the first week to six ascents per day, for a total of 13.5 minutes over the course of a day, during the sixth and seventh weeks.

By the end of this modest exercise program, the women were measurably more fit: Heart rate, oxygen uptake and blood lactate levels during climbing were reduced, and their HDL (''good'') cholesterol levels had increased.

Source: Preventive Medicine, 2000; 30, 4, 277-281

Feeling Stressed? Work it Out!

A new study confirms what many of already know: Regular exercise is one of the best ways to combat daily stress.

Researchers at the University of Texas, Houston, asked 135 college students to fill out questionnaires to assess their daily stress loads as well as their moods, physical activity patterns and overall health.

Those who reported exercising less often experienced 37 percent more physical symptoms and 21 percent more anxiety during periods of high stress than those who exercised more frequently.

Exercise, it seems, offered students a temporary respite from their problems, a period of rejuvenation before returning to the pressure of daily stress.

According to lead researcher Dr. Cindy L. Carmack, ''Minor, everyday stress contributes to the development and exacerbation of physical and mental health problems. However, people experiencing minor stress develop different degrees of symptoms, depending on their level of physical activity.''

Source: Annals of Behavioral Medicine, November 1999.

Yoga Therapy

Not only can it lift your spirit and elongate your muscles, but yoga also appears to relieve the nagging pain of carpal tunnel syndrome as well.

And researchers at the University of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia have the science to prove it. A study published in the Journal of the American Medical Association goes a long way toward validating the benefits of a practice that is still considered by many as an ''alternative'' therapy.

Forty-two subjects, ages 24 to 77 years, with carpal tunnel syndrome (CTS), a debilitating condition believed to be caused by repetitive motions that increase the pressure on the nerves that pass between the bones of the wrist, were split into one of two groups.

Patients in the first group did not exercise, but were given the option of wearing wrist splints.

The other group attended one-hour yoga sessions, twice a week for eight weeks. Classes consisted of 11 yoga postures targeting the joints of the upper-body.

The postures were based on the Iyengar approach to hatha yoga, which, according to the study's researchers, ''emphasizes proper structural alignment of the body.'' (A complete instruction list of the postures used in this study is available in the November 11, 1998 issue of JAMA.)


Those in the yoga group showed improvement in both grip strength and pain reduction; some patients even reported improvements four weeks after concluding the program.

Given the significant economic impact of CTS and other occupationally-related health problems, studies such as this one that demonstrate the benefits of a relatively low-cost therapy are bound to make employers and health-insurance carriers sit up and take notice.

Source: Journal of the American Medical Association, 1998; 280, 1601-1603