Small changes to sleep, diet and exercise could add a year, study finds

A University of Sydney study found that small changes to three behaviours—sleep, diet and exercise—could add a year of life for people with the least healthy habits, and a Guardian writer set out to try those minimal tweaks in daily life. The research suggested that for the least healthy group an additional five minutes of sleep, two minutes more exercise and minimal dietary adjustments could increase lifespan, and that the study’s least healthy cohort, who averaged five and a half hours of sleep a night, recorded health benefits from an increase of up to three extra hours.

“All those tiny behaviours we change can actually have a very meaningful impact, and they add up over time to make a big difference in our longevity,” said Nicholas Koemel, the lead author of the study. The study used a 29-item questionnaire to create a diet quality score; the group with the lowest average score, 36.9 out of 100, needed a five-point top-up—about an extra half-serving of vegetables a day—to add another year alongside the sleep and exercise changes.

The writer tried to incorporate the changes and found them surprisingly disruptive. He usually averages six and a half to seven hours of sleep and tried to extend it by lingering in bed, prompting his wife to ask, “Having a duvet day?” He missed his usual second cup of coffee.

Key Topics

Health, Nicholas Koemel, Sleep, Diet Quality Score, Exercise