Humans that we are, it is our basic nature to be on the search for techniques that assure us longetivity. Some of us may be in denial but this in fact is very true. So here’s another apparent lifesaver – take the stairs to save your life. A recent study reveals that taking the stairs could bring down considerably the risks of mortality.
The study was conducted by researchers at the University of Geneva. It found that people who tend to take the stairs instead of the elevator have a significantly higher life expectancy. The Swiss researchers discovered that walking up and down the staircase on a regular basis also keeps individuals more fit. Such people have less body fat and a drop in blood pressure which may cut their risks of dying prematurely by 15%.
Philippe Meyer, lead author of the study, remarked, “This suggests that stair-climbing may have major public health implications. It underlines the importance of architectural design and convenient placement of stairwells to help people make healthy choices. However, the results of this pilot study need to be confirmed in a larger randomized controlled trialâ€
The study involved 77 employees from Geneva University. All participants had a sedentary lifestyle and did less than 2 hours of exercise or sport each week. These volunteers also took less than ten flights of stairs a day.
For the analysis the participants were subjected to taking only the stairs over a three-month period. A close follow-up surprisingly revealed the participants to have increase in aerobic capacity. They additionally had a 2% decrease in waist circumference, weight and body fat levels. There was also a significant improvement in blood pressure levels that dropped by 2.3% and levels of “bad†LDL cholesterol that lowered by 3.9%.
So if you do want to live a longer and healthier life just take the staircase.