Staff in nurse manager jobs have learned that elderly hospital patients who walk around their ward at least once per day can lower their stay by up to 1.5 days.

This result was found in a study carried out at Israel's Haifa University, which looked at how this form of light exercise could affect the treatment of people over 70 years old who suffer from non-disabling conditions, reported the Nursing Times.

Speaking to the specialist publication, senior lecturer at South Bank University and nurse consultant for older people at Ealing Hospital NHS Trust Linda Nazarko suggested healthcare professionals should respond to the research by revisiting their priorities in the workplace.

She explained: "Staff sometimes think 'it's quicker' to wheel rather than walk a person. But nursing is about doing what's right for the patients not what's quickest."

The scientists who carried out the Israeli study concluded that many older patients mistakenly believed they should stay in bed if they were not told otherwise, when a short walk around their ward could do them a lot of good.

According to the Daily Mail, a new report produced by a team from the University of Colorado Boulder indicates that the elderly could prevent long-term memory loss associated with certain bacterial illnesses by taking a small amount of exercise.