Choosing the stairs instead of the lift may seem like a tiny decision, but new research suggests that doing it regularly could have important benefits for the heart and may even be linked to a longer life.
Researchers from the University of East Anglia and Norfolk and Norwich University Hospital examined evidence on stair climbing and cardiovascular health.
Their analysis found that people who regularly climbed stairs had a lower risk of dying from heart-related causes and from any cause.
The research, titled “Evaluating the Impact of Stair Climbing on Cardiovascular Risk Reduction: A Systematic Review and Meta-analysis,” was published in the American Journal of Cardiovascular Drugs.
Cardiovascular disease includes conditions affecting the heart and blood vessels, such as heart attacks, strokes, and heart failure. It remains the leading cause of death worldwide, making simple ways to reduce risk especially important.
Regular physical activity is already known to protect the cardiovascular system. It can improve fitness, help control blood pressure and blood sugar, support a healthy body weight, and improve cholesterol levels.
The problem is that many adults do not get enough exercise. Busy schedules, health limitations, cost, lack of facilities, and simply not enjoying structured workouts can all make regular exercise difficult.
Stair climbing offers a different approach because it can be built into normal life. People may encounter stairs at home, at work, in train stations, shopping centers, car parks, and other public places.
To investigate whether this everyday activity matters for health, the researchers reviewed nearly 1,900 studies. They ultimately included nine higher-quality studies involving more than 480,000 participants in their analysis.
The participants ranged in age from 35 to 84, and just over half were women. The studies included both generally healthy adults and people who already had a history of heart problems.
Participants were followed for a median period of about 14 years. This gave researchers an opportunity to compare stair-climbing habits with serious long-term outcomes.
The results were striking. Regular stair climbers had a 39% lower risk of dying from cardiovascular disease compared with people who climbed stairs less often.
They also had a 24% lower risk of dying from any cause. Stair climbing was additionally associated with a lower chance of developing major cardiovascular problems, including heart attack, stroke, and heart failure.
Professor Vassilios Vassiliou, from UEA’s Norwich Medical School, said stair climbing is a practical but often overlooked way to add physical activity to daily life. Unlike a formal workout, it does not necessarily require special equipment, a gym membership, or a separate block of exercise time.
Climbing stairs can be physically demanding because the body has to repeatedly lift its weight upward against gravity. This raises the heart rate and challenges the heart, lungs, and leg muscles even when the activity lasts only a short time.
Earlier research has suggested that brief stair-climbing sessions performed several times a week can improve cardiorespiratory fitness. Some studies have also reported improvements in cholesterol and other measures related to heart health.
One large study included in the analysis suggested that climbing around six flights of stairs per day might be linked with particularly strong benefits. However, the researchers said there is not yet enough evidence to identify an ideal number of flights for everyone.
Dr. Sophie Paddock, from UEA and Norfolk and Norwich University Hospital, said some studies suggested greater stair climbing was linked with greater benefits. Importantly, even relatively small amounts of stair climbing appeared to be associated with better health.
This fits with growing research showing that physical activity does not always need to happen in long exercise sessions. Short bursts of movement spread throughout the day can contribute to overall activity and may provide meaningful health benefits.
The findings could have public-health value because stairs already exist in many buildings. Encouraging people who are able to use them could be a low-cost way to increase physical activity across large populations.
However, the study does not prove that stair climbing itself caused the lower death rates. Most of the included evidence was observational, meaning people who regularly take stairs may differ from non-climbers in other ways, including fitness, health, weight, diet, smoking, or other lifestyle habits.
Another limitation is that the studies did not all measure stair climbing in exactly the same way. Future research using wearable devices could provide more accurate information about how often people climb stairs and how much is needed to produce the greatest benefit.
Stairs are also not appropriate for everyone. People with serious joint problems, poor balance, significant mobility limitations, or certain heart or lung conditions may need to choose other forms of activity or seek medical advice before increasing strenuous exercise.
Overall, the study provides strong evidence of an association between regular stair climbing and better long-term cardiovascular outcomes. Its large number of participants and long follow-up period make the findings especially interesting, although they cannot establish cause and effect.
The most practical message is simple: everyday movement counts. For people who can safely climb stairs, choosing them more often may be an easy way to add short bursts of heart-strengthening activity without dramatically changing their daily routine.
Stair climbing should not be viewed as a magic shield against heart disease. But combined with not smoking, a healthy diet, weight management, and control of blood pressure, cholesterol, and diabetes, it could become one small habit that adds up over many years.
