As the days get shorter and the weather gets cooler, you may be tempted to cut back on your exercise and physical activity. In fact, you may blanch at the thought of doing some basic exercises such as squats, push-ups, or bridges (though take a look here to find out how to make those basics less boring and easier to undertake). But before you retreat (and get into a harmful sedentary pattern), you need to understand some reporting from recent studies in the British Journal of Sports Medicine (and other journals), which underscore the value of even modest levels of exercise for your body and brain.

First comes a study of the “weekend warrior” exerciser, that is, someone who has limited movement throughout the week but then to make up for that lack of exercise, undertakes more physical activity over the weekend. In a recent study in the British Journal of Sports Medicine, researchers analyzed the data from 10,000 people in Mexico, with an average age of 51, who were cognitively healthy. Data from 16 years was examined to determine whether exercise had any impact on the development of dementia. All participants began the study in good cognitive health and over the course of the study, about 2400 participants developed mild dementia. What the researchers determined was that even just exercising once or twice a week (on a weekend or during the week- doesn’t matter) can still have positive effects on lowering your risk of dementia, in comparison to those who are inactive. In fact, just those twice-weekly exercise sessions can lower your risk for mild dementia by 13% compared to those who spend the majority of time on their couch. Another “weekend warrior” study, this one published in Circulation, reports that packing the recommended weekly exercise level of 150 minutes of moderate-to-vigorous exercise into a day or two- instead of over the course of the week- can still reduce your risk of over 260 diseases, including mental health concerns and diabetes. This study involved about 90,000 participants, with an average age of 62, who wore activity sensors to track their physical activity. Once again researchers determined that it was the total time spent exercising, rather than the pattern of all week long versus one or two days/week, that mattered in terms of health benefits. In this case, those who met the exercise recommendations had a 43% lower risk of being diagnosed with Type 2 diabetes in comparison to those who did not engage in physical activity. So less can be more, if you measure time spent exercising rather than the number of days you spend working out. For more on this study, start your stopwatch and click here. Finally, there’s another study out of NYU that reports that if you can squeeze in one additional hour of exercise per week (on top of what’s recommended) you may be able to lower your risk of Afib and other heart ailments by 11%.

When it comes to dementia, even if you haven’t been successful in warding off a diagnosis, there’s still a beneficial role for exercise to play. According to a new study in The British Journal of Sports Medicine, maintaining an exercise routine or even initiating an exercise routine after a dementia diagnosis is associated with a reduced risk of all-cause mortality. The average life expectancy of someone with a dementia diagnosis is 4-5 years but this new study found that exercise of any intensity can lower the risk of mortality by 20%. Those who previously exercised and continued after such a diagnosis saw a risk reduction of 29%. While this study was an observational one, finding an association rather than a definitive cause and effect, it does suggest that any level of exercise is beneficial to someone with a dementia diagnosis. For more on this study, click here, and for more general information on dementia and physical activity, take a look at this write-up from the Alzheimer’s Association. Finally, for a good overview of the connection between a range of exercises and dementia risk reduction, strap on your FitBit and look here.