It only takes 1 minute! Scientists name simple exercise for astronauts that increases life expectancy and protects knees

The usual duration of a flight on the International Space Station (ISS) is approximately six months and can have a huge physical impact on the human body. Therefore, astronauts need to exercise constantly to stay in good shape.

Before the flight and during their stay on the ISS, they train for 2 hours a day. However, researchers from Johns Hopkins University (USA) believe that the most effective exercise for astronauts to increase life expectancy and protect their knees may be jumping, The Sun reports. It is enough to jump for one minute.

According to scientists, jumping training can help astronauts prevent the type of cartilage damage they are likely to experience during long missions to the Moon and Mars. In addition, this simple workout can be used to protect the knees of not only astronauts during long space missions but also ordinary people on Earth.

Studying mice, the researchers found that the knee cartilage in their four-legged subjects became healthier after jumping exercises.

"Since the next step in human space exploration will be to go to Mars and spend long periods at permanent bases on the moon, cartilage damage is a really serious problem that space agencies need to address, despite how poorly it is understood," explained study author and astrophysicist Marco Ciaberge, adding that they had already seen a positive effect in mice, and its scale was unexpected.

According to the researcher, astronauts could use such training before a flight as a preventive measure, because healthy cartilage is essential for painless movements. Without it, astronauts would not be able to perform the most important tasks during the construction of permanent bases of residence on other worlds.

However, cartilage regenerates more slowly than other tissues. Thus, long periods of inactivity – whether it's space travel or bed rest – can be hard on the joints.

Previous studies have shown that running on a treadmill slows down cartilage breakdown in rodents. New research suggests that jumping-based exercises can prevent cartilage loss and also stimulate its growth.

Of course, more research is needed to confirm whether humans will get the same benefits as mice, but according to the researchers, the results are promising.

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