Bursts of Vigorous Activity Appear To Be A 'Stress-Buffer'

“Short bouts of exercise can go a long way to reduce the impact stress has on cell aging, new research reveals. Vigorous physical activity amounting to as little as 14 minutes daily, three day per week would suffice for the protective effect to kick in, according to findings published online in the May 26 issue of PLoS ONE. The apparent benefit reflects exercise's effect on the length of tiny pieces of DNA known as telomeres. These telomeres operate, in effect, like molecular shoelace tips that hold everything together to keep genes and chromosomes stable. Researchers believe that telomeres tend to shorten over time in reaction to stress, leading to a rising risk for heart disease, diabetes and even death. However, exercise, it seems, might slow down or even halt this shortening process. ‘Telomere length is increasingly...

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