Most people accept that exercising is good for them. But complications can arise in the journey off the couch or out the door. Hence the popularity of shortcuts that promise the benefits without the costs, such as the “exercise pill” I wrote about last month.

Perhaps it would be helpful for the hesitant to learn that even just a little bit of exercise is good for you. Two new studies furnish evidence for this proposition. My friend Brady Holmer, the science writer and researcher I interviewed about the so-called exercise pill, examines one new study on his Substack. It investigated the effects of the small amounts of physical activity that can occur in the course of ordinary day, which the study calls “incidental vigorous physical activity (VPA)” and “incidental moderate-to-vigorous physical activity (MVPA).” The study’s conclusion, as Holmer puts it:

Even modest amounts of incidental VPA and MVPA may mitigate the cardiovascular risks associated with high sedentary behavior. Conversely, high sedentary time combined with low levels of incidental physical activity poses the greatest risk for cardiovascular events.

The Washington Post recently reported on a similar study, which found that even just a few minutes of exercise a day can lower blood pressure. “The study found that even an additional five minutes of exercise-like activity per day was associated with a drop in blood pressure,” as the Post put it.

This information is a non-intimidating inducement for those who would like to be (or suspect they should be) more active. Perhaps it can be the beginning of their fitness journeys, not the end. After all, if just a few minutes of exercise a day can have beneficial effects . . .