- Weekend warriors — individuals who get most of their physical activity over one or two days in a week — gain similar brain health benefits as those who exercise more regularly.
- According to a new study, weekend warriors had reductions in risk for dementia, stroke, Parkinson’s disease, anxiety, and depression, which is comparable to a more traditional workout schedule.
- The study builds on previous research that has shown weekend warriors also experience significant cardiovascular health benefits.
Weekend warriors reap similar brain health benefits as individuals who exercise more regularly throughout the week.
Researchers have increasingly taken interest in the “weekend warrior” exercise phenomenon: when an individual tends to get the majority of their physical activity in during one or two days of the week.
Whether due to work or family responsibilities, many people may feel like they have less time for exercise and leisure activity during the week, leaving it for the weekend instead.
But can you really get the same health benefits when cramming weekly exercise into a shorter period of time According to multiple large studies: yes.
While prior studies have focused on outcomes like cardiovascular health and mortality, the latest research, published August 21 in Nature Aging, focused on brain health benefits, including reduced risks for neurological conditions like Parkinson’s disease and mental health conditions like anxiety and depression.
Across a broad spectrum of brain health conditions, weekend warriors showed similar benefits as those with a more traditional exercise schedule when compared to individuals who were inactive.
The findings suggest that from a health perspective, the body may not distinguish between daily exercise or more sporadic activity, as long as weekly physical activity recommendations are met: at least 150 minutes of moderate intensity activity per week.
“It’s really about the volume, not the pattern,” said Shaan Khurshid, MD, MPH, a cardiac electrophysiologist at Massachusetts General Hospital. Khurshid wasn’t affiliated with the study, but has previously published research on weekend warriors and cardiovascular disease outcomes.
“Overall, I think the study was well done. There is a lot of potential to learn more about the ‘weekend warrior’ pattern. So, it was a natural extension to look at brain health in an analogous manner to what we did with cardiovascular health,” Khurshid said.
‘Weekend warriors’ have lower risk of dementia, stroke
The study involved more than 75,000 participants whose health and lifestyle data was available through the UK Biobank. Participants tended to be older, with an average age of 61 years old. The cohort was also well represented by women, making up about 55% of the group.
While some prior studies on weekend warriors have relied on self-reported data, which tends to be less reliable and objective, researchers used accelerometer (fitness tracker) data to determine participants’ weekly exercise patterns.
Researchers subdivided participants based on these exercise patterns into one of three groups:
- Inactive: Participated in less than the recommended 150 minutes per week of moderate to vigorous physical activity.
- Regularly Active: Participated in 150 minutes or more of moderate to vigorous physical activity per week.
- Weekend Warriors: Participated in 150 minutes or more of moderate to vigorous physical activity per week, with more than half of their activity occurring within 1–2 days.
It’s important to note that although the phrase “weekend warrior” is used, none of the research specifically indicates that physical activity has to occur on weekends. Instead, it simply refers to physical activity concentrated over a few days. Interestingly, this group made up the largest proportion of exercise patterns, accounting for nearly 40% of all participants.
Researchers divided brain health into neurological and psychological conditions. The neurological grouping included Parkinson’s disease, stroke, and dementia. Psychological conditions included depression, anxiety, and bipolar disorder.
Over more than eight years of follow-up, the weekend warrior group saw comparable reduction in risk to the regularly active group across the entire spectrum of brain health. Bipolar disorder was a notable outlier; no significant association was found between it and physical activity patterns.
Brad Donohue, PhD, a professor of psychology and Creator of The Optimum Performance Program in Sports (TOPPS) at the University of Las Vegas who wasn’t affiliated with the research, told Healthline the findings were exciting.
“The positive relationship between exercise and mental health in scientific studies is becoming increasingly clear. They indicate that moderate-to-vigorous exercise, regularly or on a weekend warrior schedule improves mental health and physical health,” he said.
After adjusting for health and lifestyle factors, risk reduction levels for specific conditions among weekend warriors were significant across all conditions.
- dementia: 23%
- stroke: 13%
- Parkinson’s disease: 49%
- depression: 26%
- anxiety: 28%
“There are people who might be discouraged from exercise because they think that they have to do it regularly. And this study seems to show that if you can find the time to do one or two days of moderate to vigorous exercise, it’s going to offer very significant health benefits,” Donohue added.
Are there risks associated with being a weekend warrior?
Packing in all your physical activity into a weekend may not always be feasible, but getting as much exercise as you can on a regular basis, even if it’s only for short bouts, can still be helpful.
“This doesn’t change my recommendation that people should try to keep moving as much as they can,” Michael Fredericson, MD, director of PM&R Sports Medicine and co-director of the Longevity Center Stanford Medicine, told Healthline. Fredericson wasn’t affiliated with the research.
“But, on the other hand, for those people who can’t, this is still encouraging that if all you can do is exercise on the weekend you’re still going to get a really significant benefit,” he added.
He pointed out that this and other weekend warrior studies have focused on that 150-minute per week threshold, which is, essentially, the bare minimum that people should be getting. For serious health benefits that actually improve longevity, you’ll likely need to double that amount of physical activity per week.
“Maybe you can meet those basic guidelines, just exercising one or two days a week, but you’re probably not going to be able, nor should you try, to do 300 minutes a week all at once,” he said.
He also cautioned that by concentrating physical activity into a short period of time, you may put yourself at risk of injury.
“There’s a potential downside to achieving very high volumes of activity in a short period of time, especially if you’re not used to that pattern. It always makes sense to listen to your body to ramp up your activity and volume in a way that is sensible,” said Khurshid.
Still, Khurshid said the message people should take home about the consistent data on weekend warriors is that they have the freedom to get their activity how and when it works for them.
“I view that as empowering: we’re able to tell patients, at least on the basis of the data that’s available coming out, that you can structure your exercise the way it makes sense for your lifestyle,” he said.
Takeaway
Research indicates that so-called weekend warriors — people who get the majority of their physical activity over just one or two days per week — get the same brain and cardiovascular benefits as those who exercise during the week.
Weekend warriors experienced significant reduction in risk for both neurological conditions like stroke and Parkinson’s disease, and mental health conditions including depression and anxiety.
Experts say that the findings should empower people who find time to exercise on a schedule that works for them.
