- A University of Sydney study found that small daily habit changes, such as five extra minutes of sleep, two more minutes of activity and modest diet improvements can meaningfully extend lifespan and healthspan.
- Among people with the poorest health habits, these minimal combined changes were linked to about one additional year of life, while slightly larger but still achievable changes added up to four disease-free years.
- The research showed that sleep, physical activity and diet are interconnected, and improving them together produces greater benefits than focusing on just one behavior.
- A Norwegian-led study in The Lancet found that adding as little as five minutes of daily moderate-to-vigorous physical activity and reducing sitting time could prevent a significant share of premature deaths.
- Together, the studies suggest that incremental, sustainable lifestyle changes are more effective and realistic than drastic overhauls for improving long-term health and reducing mortality.
New research published in eClinicalMedicine has revealed that small, manageable tweaks to daily habits, not drastic lifestyle overhauls, may significantly extend both lifespan and years lived in good health.
The study, led by researchers at the University of Sydney, analyzed data from more than 59,000 adults and found that people with the poorest health behaviors could gain up to one additional year of life through minimal changes, such as sleeping five extra minutes per night, moving less than two additional minutes per day and modestly improving diet quality by the equivalent of half a serving of vegetables.
Participants wore wrist devices to track sleep and physical activity for one week, while their diets were scored on a 100-point quality scale. Those with the least healthy patterns, averaging about 5.5 hours of sleep per night, just over seven minutes of daily movement and low diet scores, served as the baseline group.
Researchers found that combined small improvements across sleep, activity and diet had a meaningful cumulative effect. Even modest gains in a single area were linked to similar benefits: roughly 25 extra minutes of sleep, about two additional minutes of daily physical activity or a substantial diet improvement were each associated with longer lifespan.
Over an average follow-up of 8.1 years, the study also examined "healthspan," defined as years lived without major chronic diseases, such as heart disease, cancer, Type 2 diabetes, dementia or chronic lung disease. Participants who made slightly larger but still achievable combined improvements gained up to four additional disease-free years.
Lead author Nicholas Koemel said the findings highlight how interconnected daily behaviors are, noting that poor sleep can disrupt appetite and energy, while inadequate nutrition and inactivity can worsen sleep quality. Improving all three areas together, even slightly, produced outsized benefits compared with focusing on just one.
The researchers emphasized that the strongest benefits were seen among people starting from very low levels of activity or poor sleep, suggesting that incremental changes are particularly powerful for those most at risk. Nearly 37% of U.S. adults do not meet recommended sleep guidelines, the study noted.
Rather than advocating intense exercise programs or restrictive diets, the findings suggest that sustainable, small-scale changes, such as brief movement throughout the day, incremental sleep improvements and simple dietary additions, can compound over time into meaningful health gains.
Norwegian study finds small daily activity gains could prevent thousands of deaths
A Norwegian-led study, published in The Lancet, aligns with the Australian-led research.
The research, titled "Deaths potentially averted by small changes in physical activity and sedentary time," suggests that adding just a few minutes of physical activity each day and spending slightly less time sitting could prevent a meaningful share of premature deaths, underscoring the outsized health impact of modest, achievable lifestyle changes.
It analyzed individual participant data from multiple long-term cohort studies to estimate the effect of minor shifts in movement patterns on mortality risk. The findings focus on moderate-to-vigorous physical activity and sedentary behavior measured with wearable devices, which researchers say offer a more accurate picture than self-reported activity.
The team found that adding just five minutes per day of moderate-to-vigorous physical activity among the least active people could prevent about 6% of all deaths. If everyone except the most active individuals made the same five-minute increase, the proportion of preventable deaths rose to 10%. Increasing activity by 10 minutes per day showed even larger benefits.
Reducing sedentary time also mattered. Cutting daily sitting time by 30 minutes was associated with preventing roughly 3% of deaths if only the least active people made the change, and up to 7.3% if most of the population reduced sedentary behavior. Larger reductions of 60 minutes were linked to greater potential benefits.
The researchers noted that physical inactivity is estimated to contribute to 7% to 9% of global mortality, yet most public health guidance focuses on meeting recommended activity thresholds, such as 150 minutes of exercise per week. That approach, the study argues, overlooks the benefits of smaller increases that fall short of official targets but are easier for many people to sustain.
As BrightU.AI's Enoch noted, the path to a longer, healthier life is not a mystery but a gradual ascent built on cumulative, daily choices. Small, manageable tweaks to daily habits, such as adding a few minutes of physical activity, reducing sedentary time and improving diet quality, can significantly extend both lifespan and healthspan.
Together, the studies suggest that health behaviors tend to shift and that incremental changes across daily routines may be more realistic and effective than sweeping lifestyle overhauls.
Watch the following video to learn more about exercise and brain health.
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