One type of exercise is the closest thing to a miracle drug that we have - and new research suggests intense workouts aren't the only option

• Many people wonder whether it's better for your health to do occasional intense workouts or daily low-level activity.
• New research from the American Heart Association suggests that it doesn't matter, as long as your workouts fall into one category: aerobic exercise.
• That means that whether you're signed up for a twice-weekly spinning class or you simply move around a lot throughout the day, your body and brain will reap the benefits.

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To walk or to run, that is often the question.

In other words, if you're looking to improve your health, is it better to commit to an occasional all-out sweat fest or simply incorporate more walking and moving into your day?

A new study suggests a simple answer to this years-old conundrum: it doesn't matter.

For better health and a reduced risk of death from all causes, any kind of movement is better than little or none.

That means that any effort that gets you moving and breathing - whether it's a twice-weekly heart-pounding kickboxing class or a 30-minute walk to work - has measurable benefits for your brain and body.

The research, published Friday in the Journal of the American Heart Association, used data on physical activity and death rates from national surveys of more than 4,800 adults. The authors of the study sorted peoples' activity into two categories: their total minutes of activity per day and their total minutes of "bouted" or intense or concentrated activity per day.

To count as a "bout," an exercise spell had to last at least 5-10 minutes, but breaks of 1-2 minutes between bouts were allowed. The researchers then looked for potential linkages between subjects' activity levels, types of activity, and their chances of dying from any causes.

You might assume that people with more bouted activity - including workouts like cycling classes, interval training or tabata, and marathon training - fared better than people who simply walked or moved around a lot. In reality, the study revealed that neither type of activity had a significant edge over the other.

"The key message based on the results," the authors wrote, "is that total physical activity (i.e., of any bout duration) provides important health benefits."

Why cardio exercise is so good for our brain and body

The most recent study didn't examine the types of activity that participants did in detail, but plenty of other research has extolled the benefits of cardio, or aerobic, workouts - defined as any type of movement that raises your heart rate and gets you moving and sweating for a sustained period of time.

Unlike weight or strength training, which involves working specific muscle groups, cardio raises your heart rate, thereby improving heart and lung health.

Aerobic exercise has also been tied to a wide range of benefits for the brain, including lifts in mood, improvements in the symptoms of depression, and even potential protection against some forms of age-related cognitive decline.

Cardio workouts "have a unique capacity to exhilarate and relax, to provide stimulation and calm, to counter depression and dissipate stress," according to a recent article in Harvard's "Mind and Mood" blog.

The reason aerobic workouts lift our spirits seems related to their ability to reduce levels of natural stress hormones, such as adrenaline and cortisol, according to a study in the Journal of Physical Therapy Science. Activities like running and swimming also increase overall blood flow and provide our minds fresh energy and oxygen - another factor that could help us feel better.

So whether you're looking for benefits related to mood, memory, or overall health, the take-home message is clear: the more you move, the healthier you're likely to be.