Mental health: “weekend warriors” reap similar benefits to those who exercise regularly during the week

Physical exercise is associated with lower risks of neurological and psychiatric diseases, including dementia, stroke, Parkinson’s disease, depressive disorder, and anxiety disorder. Can exercising 1 or 2 days a week, a type of behaviour commonly practiced by those referred to as “weekend warriors,” be as effective for brain health as doing the same amount of exercise spread out over all seven days of the week? This is the question that researchers sought to answer in a study recently published in the journal Nature Aging. The question is relevant since the constraints of modern life mean that more and more adults are unable to engage in physical activity during the week and are instead opting for intense sessions on the weekend or over 1 or 2 days.

The researchers analyzed data collected from 75,629 participants in the UK Biobank. Participants wore an accelerometer to accurately and objectively measure physical activity levels. They were divided into three groups:

1) Inactive (less than 150 minutes of moderate-to-vigorous physical activity);

2) Regularly active (>150 minutes of moderate-to-vigorous physical activity spread evenly throughout the week);

3) Weekend exercisers (>50% of moderate-to-vigorous physical activity over 1 or 2 days).

During the 8.4 years of follow-up, the incidence of dementia, Parkinson’s disease, stroke, depressive disorder, anxiety disorder, and bipolar disorder among participants was established from medical records. During this period, 530 participants were diagnosed with dementia, 319 were diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease, 1,468 had a stroke, 1,507 had a depressive disorder, 1,794 had an anxiety disorder, and 18 had a bipolar disorder. Compared with inactive participants, and controlling for lifestyle and health conditions, weekend exercisers who engaged in 150 minutes or more of moderate-to-vigorous exercise per week had lower risks of dementia (-23%), stroke (-13%), Parkinson’s disease (-49%), depressive disorder (-26%), and anxiety disorder (-28%). Similar reductions (without significant difference, according to statistical analysis) were observed in regularly active participants.

Regardless of the amount of physical exercise, active participants (regularly or 1–2 days/week) had similar risk reductions. Being physically active 1–2 days/week was associated with a significant reduction in the risk of Parkinson’s disease in both younger (-50%) and older participants (-52%), and in both women (-56%) and men (-45%).

The results of this study indicate that people who exercise 1 or 2 days per week benefit from reductions in the risks of developing neurological diseases and psychiatric disorders similar to those who exercise regularly. Previous studies have already shown that exercising 1 or 2 days per week, like weekend warriors, was associated with a 30% reduction in the risk of premature mortality, compared with inactive people (see our article). According to another study, the cardiovascular disease risks were reduced as much in weekend athletes as in regularly active people, including atrial fibrillation (22% vs. 19%), myocardial infarction (27% vs. 35%), heart failure (38% vs. 36%), and stroke (21% vs. 17%), compared with inactive people.

Another study of 89,573 participants in the UK Biobank cohort, who wore an accelerometer for one week, tested whether there were significant associations between physical activity and the incidence of 678 health conditions. Compared with inactive participants (<150 minutes/week of moderate-to-vigorous physical activity), weekend warriors and regularly active participants had significantly reduced risks for over 200 health conditions. The strongest associations were observed for cardiometabolic conditions such as hypertension (weekend warriors: -23%, regularly active: -28%); type 2 diabetes (weekend warriors: -43%, regularly active: -46%); obesity (weekend warriors: -45%, regularly active: -56%), and sleep apnea (weekend warriors: -43%, regularly active: -51%). When comparing weekend warriors directly with regularly active people, no significant differences were found for any health condition.

Taken together, the results of recent studies indicate that it is the total volume of physical activity, rather than the pattern, that appears to be important in reducing the risk of several cardiometabolic, neurological, and psychiatric diseases. Walking 4,000 to 10,000 steps per day during the week and doing more intense exercise on the weekends may be an ideal scenario for people who are unable to exercise during the week.