Lifestyle changes could add nearly a decade to life, study finds

A Lancet study using data from about 59,000 UK Biobank participants found that small combined changes to sleep, physical activity and diet were associated with longer lifespan, and the authors noted the analysis is observational and further study is needed.

A new analysis published in The Lancet examined how small shifts in daily sleep, movement and diet relate to lifespan and healthspan. Researchers at the University of Sydney used data from 59,078 adults in the U.K. Biobank. Sleep and physical activity were measured with wearables, and diet was assessed by questionnaire. The study estimated associations between changes in these behaviours and years lived, and the authors cautioned the work is observational and not proof of causation. Key findings: - The analysis reported that adding about five minutes of sleep per day, two extra minutes of movement per day and a five-point rise in diet quality were each linked together to roughly one additional year of life when combined. - A modeled combination of about 24 extra minutes of sleep, 3.7 extra minutes of exercise and a 23-point increase in diet quality was associated with about four additional years of life. - Adjusting sleep, movement and diet together was reported as having the strongest association, with the study estimating up to about a nine-year increase in lifespan under larger combined changes. - A separate Lancet study of roughly 135,000 adults across Sweden, the U.S. and the U.K. found that five extra minutes per day of moderate activity (such as walking) was associated with a 10% reduction in deaths for adults who averaged about 17 minutes daily, and smaller reductions for less active adults. - That larger study also reported that reducing sedentary time by 30 minutes per day was linked to smaller percentages of lower mortality depending on baseline sedentary time, and that adding 10 minutes of moderate activity was associated with an estimated 15% reduction in deaths for many adults. Summary: The reported findings suggest that modest, combined shifts in sleep, activity and diet were associated with measurable gains in lifespan and years lived free of major chronic disease. Researchers emphasized that the studies are observational and noted limitations, and they called for further research before these associations are translated into practice.