3 simple lifestyle changes could add almost a decade to your life, research shows

A few small changes to your daily routine could add years to your life.

Combined shifts in sleep, exercise and diet may significantly extend lifespan and years spent in good health, according to a new study published in The Lancet.

Researchers at the University of Sydney analyzed data from 59,078 adults in the U.K. Biobank. Their sleep patterns and physical activity were measured via wearables, and their diet was assessed through a questionnaire.

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The analysis estimated how changes in these behaviors affected lifespan and healthspan (years lived without major chronic diseases compared to those with less healthy patterns).

When combined, the following changes to sleep, movement and diet were correlated to about one extra year of life.

1. An extra five minutes of sleep per day
2. An extra two minutes of moderate physical activity per day, added to a workout regimen or general movement
3. Slight improvement of diet quality or a five-point increase in diet quality score

This diet improvement could include an additional half-serving of vegetables or 1.5 servings of whole grains per day, the researchers noted.

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A combined improvement of 24 extra minutes of sleep per day, 3.7 extra minutes of exercise and a 23-point increase in diet quality was associated with four additional years of life.

Adjusting all three behaviors at the same time was shown to have the strongest benefit, contributing to about a nine-year increase in lifespan, according to the findings.

“Our findings suggest that very small, likely achievable, combined changes in SPAN behaviors may offer a powerful and feasible public health opportunity for improving lifespan for at least a year, while slightly larger behavioral changes may be required to stave off chronic disease altogether for several years,” the researchers concluded.

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They cautioned that additional studies are necessary before integrating these findings into public health practice.

A similar study, published in The Lancet on the same day, also revealed that making small changes in movement contributes to lower mortality risk.

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Engaging in five extra minutes per day of moderate physical activity, like walking, was associated with a 10% death reduction for adults who typically average about 17 minutes of daily activity, the research found. The risk reduction was 6% in less active adults.

The study, which included 135,000 adults across Sweden, the U.S. and the U.K., also found that reducing sedentary time by 30 minutes per day contributed to a 7% death reduction in adults who spend 10 hours being sedentary per day.

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Those who spend about 12 hours sedentary could experience a 3% decrease in death risk when that time was reduced by 30 minutes.

The greatest benefit was shown when the least active 20% of the study population increased physical activity by five minutes a day, the study found.

Overall, the study revealed that adding 10 minutes of moderate-intensity activity per day was associated with a 15% reduction in all deaths among most adults, while a one-hour reduction in sedentary time was connected to a 13% death rate reduction.

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This study also had some limitations, the researchers acknowledged. Because it was observational in design, it could only show associations, and did not prove that increased activity or reduced sedentary time directly caused lower mortality. It also relied partly on self-reported data, and other external factors could have influenced the results.