Less is more. Or at least enough.

I realize that many people don’t love physical activity and exercise the way I do. Or at all, for that matter. I don’t get it. I don’t get that some people – statistically LOTS and LOTS of people – do not engage in some form of sweat-inducing activity every day. I don’t understand this not because there is so much evidence out there linking exercise to good health. People ignore evidence all the time. I smoked cigarettes all through my 20s despite exposure to revolting pictures of blackened lungs and reams of scientific research linking tobacco to the devil.

Why I don’t understand those who are persistently inactive (note I do not say “lazy”!) it is that exercise, or rather physical activity (“exercise” sounds too much like a specialized class) always, always makes me FEEL good. It elevates my mood, scours me of stress, spurs the creative process. Of course I am well aware of – have written many times about — the straightforward physical benefits (healthier heart, stronger bones, etc.) but it is the mental and emotional lift I get from physical activity that compels me. Why wouldn’t everyone want to feel this way?

Now, good news for those of you who do not share my penchant for perspiration, who have to psych yourself up to get out the door, who have to battle with yourself every day to “make time” to exercise (and often lose the battle).

For women: Less is More.

A University of Oxford epidemiologist and colleagues recently completed a large-scale, 9-year study  involving 1.1 million women in the U.K, average age 56, who were free from cancer, heart disease, stroke, blood clots and diabetes at the study’s start. Women who performed strenuous physical activity – sufficient to cause sweating or a faster heart beat – two to three times per week were about 20% less likely to develop heart disease, strokes or blood clots compared to those who reported little or no activity. Interestingly, among active women, there was little evidence of further risk reductions with more frequent activity.

In other words, you can reap significant health benefits from far less frequent bouts of physical activity than you thought. (The psychological benefits come with the package. Once you experience them, you’ll want to be active every day, with or without added risk reduction. )

“Inactive middle-aged women should try to do some activity regularly,” said the study’s lead author.

Duh.