Running could make you live longer, a new study suggests. In fact, those who run could add about three years on average to their lifespans.

A study, conducted over the course of 15 years, followed 55,000 people between the ages of 18 and 100 years old. They were questioned about their running habits and then followed up with for the next decade and a half to determine if running appeared to have any impact on longevity.

It turns out there is a significant health benefit that appears to be related to routine running. Researchers were able to determine a strong correlation between running and living longer. What this means is that though no direct causation was established, scientists were able to control for enough factors to determine that the habit of running was often present in those who lived longer during the course of the study.

Health benefits from running can be gleaned even from light amounts of the exercise. Measurable differences in health were present in participants whether they ran a lot or a little each week. People who ran for an average of 30 minutes to an hour a week, or five to 10 minutes a day, were 28 percent less likely to die in general and 58 percent less likely to die as the result of heart disease. Those who ran more avidly were 30 percent less likely to die from any cause and 45 percent less likely to die of heart disease.

The benefits did not appear any greater for those who ran more than three hours each week than for those who ran lightly during the week.

Researchers say that an important note of interest is the fact that even running for literally five minutes a day can produce health benefits. They hope that knowing this will help more people feel compelled to take up running and to stick with it for the long term, as a few minutes each day is not a large commitment that still produces improvement in lung and heart function.