Mr. Zhao is an office worker, he works every day, there is no time to exercise, recently Mr. Zhao always feels that he is very tired, and even the shoulder and neck pain has become more serious, so he went to the hospital for a check-up when he was resting.
The results of the examination showed that Mr. Zhao did not have any major physical problems, and the doctor only advised him to strengthen his exercise.
He understands the reason, but Mr. Zhao is usually really busy and has no time to exercise, so the doctor suggested that when he goes home from work every day, he can give up or sit a few floors less, and climb the stairs for 10 minutes every day to achieve the purpose of exercise.
1. The latest release of the European Society of Cardiology: Climb stairs every day to prolong life and reduce the risk of heart disease and death
In April 2024, researchers from the University of Norfolk in the United Kingdom published a paper at the European Society of Cardiology, which concluded that climbing stairs every day can make people live longer. After collecting data from data collection and data extraction from research reports related to stair climbing, the researchers found that:
Compared with people who did not climb stairs, people who climbed stairs for more than 10 minutes a day could reduce all-cause mortality by more than 20%.
• In addition, stair climbing can reduce the risk of heart disease and reduce the risk of death from cardiovascular disease by nearly 40%.
Researchers believe that even short-term physical activity can have a beneficial impact on our health, so researchers suggest that people can exercise by climbing stairs every day.
As for how many stairs should be climbed every day, a study published by researchers at Peking University in September last year gave us the answer, and they found that compared with people who do not exercise, they only need to climb 50 stairs a day to achieve the effect of exercise, and the benefit of reducing the risk of cardiovascular disease can also be maximized.
In fact, climbing stairs can indeed achieve the effect of exercising, but it can also increase the wear and tear of the knees, so within the effective range, climbing 50 stairs a day is enough.
Second, there are many benefits of climbing stairs, and a number of studies have confirmed that climbing stairs is beneficial to health
Stair climbing is also a type of exercise, and it is almost certain that it can have beneficial effects on physical health. So, what exactly are the specific benefits of stair climbing?
1. Climb the stairs for 10 minutes to lower postprandial blood sugar
Previous studies have proved that after 3 minutes or 10 minutes of stair climbing, blood sugar levels can be lowered, but it should be noted that the time to climb the stairs must be long enough, because if you only climb the stairs for one minute, the blood sugar level and insulin concentration generally do not change too significantly.
2. Climb the stairs for 10 minutes to refresh and wake up
Researchers from the University of Georgia in the United States selected a group of sleep-deprived female college students to study the subjects, the average sleep time of this group of people is less than 6.5 hours a day, but in the process of research, the researchers found that they climbed the stairs at noon when they were most likely to be sleepy, and the degree of cognitive improvement was the highest, even significantly higher than that of drinking coffee.
Researchers believe that the main reason for this phenomenon may be that people who work in the office usually have a sedentary lack of exercise, and climbing stairs and walking outdoors can help them increase adrenaline secretion, keep the nervous system excited, and achieve a refreshing effect.
3. Relieves shoulder and neck pain
You may not know that lack of exercise is actually one of the main causes of shoulder and neck pain, many people do not have time to exercise, and like to take the elevator, the less they walk, the less exercise for heart function, coupled with long-term looking down at the screen and looking at the phone, the symptoms of shoulder and neck pain will naturally continue to worsen.
For this group of people, stair climbing is a good exercise method, because it can not only help us exercise the calf muscles and increase the heart capacity, but also speed up the blood circulation in the human body and reduce the symptoms of shoulder and neck pain.
Third, climb the stairs to do what you can, and the elderly should be cautious!
Climbing stairs is of course a good way to exercise, but the intensity of exercise varies from person to person, and it cannot be over-exercised, and for the elderly, climbing stairs is such a mechanical, wear-and-tear exercise on joints, which should be treated with caution.
1. Damage to the knee joint
For the elderly who are in good health, there is no problem when they occasionally climb the stairs and the amount of exercise is not very large.
But when the elderly have knee problems, and then go to climb the stairs, then it will have a very bad impact on the knee. Because of this exercise, it is likely to cause damage to the knee cartilage in the elderly, and when the knee cartilage is completely polished, the patient may even need to undergo artificial knee replacement before they can perform daily activities.
Knee cartilage has no ability to regenerate, it is just a thin layer of cartilage, which is the protection between bones, once it is lost, bones will rub against bones when walking, and periosteal nerves and blood vessels rub against each other, causing severe pain.
2. The elderly are at great risk of climbing the stairs
Whether it is climbing stairs or mountaineering, it is not the most suitable method for the elderly to exercise, as the elderly continue to age, they will experience physical deterioration, not only slow reaction speed, but also gradually reduce the sense of balance.
At the same time, the cardiopulmonary function declines, vision problems, muscle strength will also decline, in this process, once the stairs, climbing, high-intensity exercise, it is easier to accelerate bone loss, accelerate cartilage wear or lesions, not only can not achieve the effect of exercise, but also may cause joint burden, so that the elderly suffer.
In the process of climbing stairs, the pressure on the joint surface will be higher than usual, which is very unfriendly to the joint.
Secondly, because the elderly's sense of balance will gradually decrease, the risk will become higher in the process of climbing stairs, in case of aging in the process of climbing or climbing, the danger of the elderly is still relatively large, it is still recommended that the elderly who want to choose to climb the mountain and climb the stairs for exercise, or be cautious.
3. Stair climbing may cause arthritis
Climbing stairs up and down stairs and climbing mountains is essentially the same, as a process that is repeated many times, the joints will continue to rub in the process, the frequency of friction will double, and the wear and tear will naturally be more serious.
For healthy people, climbing mountains and stairs will not exceed the pressure that the bones and joints can bear, and can achieve the effect of protecting the joints, and the bones and joints will not only not be worn out, but also increase the thickness of the cartilage, but for the elderly whose joints have degenerated, every step up the stairs may be an injury to the bones and joints.
The longer the time, the articular cartilage will only undergo degenerative diseases, shedding, articular hyperplasia and ligament damage, and once these diseases are further developed, osteoarthritis may be formed.
And overload exercise, for the damage to the joints, is definitely not just talking.
Although climbing stairs has many benefits, it also has a good effect on human health, but for the elderly, this must not be the best choice, to achieve the effect of exercise, the elderly have many ways, whether it is walking or swimming, can be able to protect the joints under the premise, to achieve the effect of exercise.
For the elderly, prevention and maintenance must be more important than treatment, we can pursue sports because we want to be healthy, but we can't blindly pursue, and we can't force breakthroughs regardless of our physical condition, which not only can't achieve the purpose of health, but also may cause physical burden.
Bibliography:
[1] Climbing stairs is more refreshing than drinking coffee[J].Knowledge of Cardiovascular Disease Prevention and Control(Popular Science Edition),2017(11):40.)
[2] Chen Yiyi. Healthy Life,2015(12):39.)
[3] Lu Qiong. I've heard that climbing stairs or climbing mountains is bad for your knees, is it true? Zhongnan Pharmaceutical Science (Medication and Health),2017(06):85.