Engaging in just 10 minutes of high-intensity interval exercise three times a week can significantly reduce the risk of developing heart conditions, new research has concluded.

The findings, based on experiments involving adolescents, are the latest to suggest shorter, higher-intensity workouts done every other day are as beneficial as standard daily exercise regimens lasting 30 minutes or more.

Researchers from the University of Exeter who conducted the study noted current exercise guidelines recommend that teenagers get a minimum of 60 minutes daily. But the new study indicates shorter durations of exercise are just as healthy, if not more so.

"We know that activity levels drop significantly as children reach adolescence, and so far attempts to increase this to an hour a day have proved fruitless,” said researcher Alan Barker, M.D. “This study indicates that, providing the intensity is high, health benefits are achievable with just 8-10 minutes of exercise."

For the study, researchers asked six girls and seven boys to carry out six high-intensity workouts over two weeks — cycling in high-speed bursts of one minute, with a 75 second break in between. They started with eight bursts and built up to 10 over the two weeks.

The results showed that the training improved both blood vessel function and the brain's ability to control the beating of the heart — both important markers of cardiovascular health.

"This is an important finding, but more work is needed to inform existing physical activity guidelines for health,” said lead researcher Bert Bond, M.D. “The next step is to confirm these results on more participants, especially groups who are at greater risk of future cardiovascular disease, and to address the impact of longer high-intensity interventions.”