Do you want to live longer? Making small changes could be enough, two major studies suggest

If your goal is to be healthier in 2026, you don’t need to overhaul your habits, follow a strict diet, or spend hours at the gym.

Taking small steps to collectively improve three of the most important behaviors — sleep, exercise and nutrition — can not only improve health, but also extend your life, according to a new study.

Changes could be as simple as a few extra minutes of sleep per night, plus a few extra vegetables or grains, and a few extra minutes of exercise per day.

Scientists at the University of Sydney in Australia analyzed the behaviors of more than 59,000 older adults using the UK Biobank, a massive database that began recruiting participants in 2005 and collects data on health, lifestyle and demographics.

For a week, Biobank participants wore wrist devices that tracked their sleep and movement, during which moderate to vigorous physical activity counted as exercise.

Based on participants’ self-reported eating habits, they received dietary quality scores ranging from zero to 100, with a higher score indicating a healthier diet. For example, eating at least three servings of fruit per day earned the maximum 10 points in the fruit category, while abstaining from sugary drinks earned the maximum 10 points in the beverage category.

People with the worst health habits were used as a reference point. They slept 5.5 hours per night, exercised 7.3 minutes per day and had a dietary quality score of 36.9.

Although everyone can benefit from small lifestyle changes, the study, published Tuesday in the journal eClinicalMedicine, found that people with the worst health habits could gain an extra year of life if they benefited from a combination:

• 5 extra minutes of sleep per night and
• 1.9 extra minutes of exercise per day and
• a 5-point increase in diet quality score, such as an additional half serving of vegetables or 1.5 servings of whole grains per day.

The unhealthy group that did not or could not make improvements in all three areas could see the same one-year increase in their lifespan if they achieved either:

• 25 extra minutes of sleep per night or
• 2.3 additional minutes of exercise per day or
• a 35.5 point increase in diet quality score.

“All of these little behaviors that we change can actually have a very significant impact, and they add up over time to make a big difference in our longevity,” said study lead author Nicholas Koemel, a registered dietitian and researcher in the university’s department of physical activity, lifestyle and population health.

After a median follow-up period of just over eight years, Koemel and colleagues looked at how many participants had died or developed health problems, including cancer, dementia, heart disease and type 2 diabetes. They defined healthy span as additional years lived without these diseases.

People with the worst health habits could increase their life expectancy by four years, the study found, if they achieved a combined result:

• 24 extra minutes of sleep per night and
• 3.7 extra minutes of exercise per day and
• a 23-point increase in diet quality score, such as an extra cup of vegetables per day, one serving of whole grains per day and two servings of fish per week.

Although no individual changes in sleep, exercise, or diet would increase lifespan by 10 years for the least healthy group, the following combined changes were associated with an additional decade of life:

• 180 extra minutes of sleep per night and
• 24.9 additional minutes of exercise per day and
• a 35-point increase in diet quality score.

“The message here shouldn’t necessarily be that these small adjustments are a silver bullet,” Koemel said. “It’s more about where we take that first step and trying to see how we can create sustainable opportunities that are more achievable for some people.”

In a similar study also published Tuesday in the journal The Lancet, researchers found that for most adults, sitting 30 minutes less per day was associated with a 7% decrease in deaths over an average follow-up period of eight years.

Additionally, an additional five minutes of daily moderate-to-vigorous-intensity exercise was associated with 10% fewer deaths, while an additional 30 minutes of light physical activity was associated with 5% fewer deaths.

The second study, led by scientists at the Norwegian School of Sports Sciences in Oslo, involved more than 135,000 adults in the UK, US, Norway and Sweden, and included data from the UK Biobank. The authors wrote that they hope their work can influence public health policies.

Sleep gains and losses add up

Nearly 37% of American adults don’t get the recommended minimum of seven hours a night, according to 2022 data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Lack of sleep can lead to short- and long-term mental and physical health problems, from depression and difficulty concentrating to heart disease and obesity. The impacts on your sleep are cumulative, said Dr. Maha Alattar, medical director of the VCU Health Center for Sleep Medicine in Richmond, Virginia.

“Adding five minutes may not help you one day, but … at the end of the month it will be a lot of hours,” said Aattar, who was not involved in either study. “It can translate into better long-term health because I see things from a different perspective, and that’s how we look at sleep deprivation.”

Rather than focusing on getting eight hours of sleep a night, Alattar said, she advises patients to add an extra 30 minutes to their nightly sleep duration. This small change is a manageable way to help get them on the right track.

In the Sydney study, sleeping more than 7.5 hours a night was not associated with an increase in life expectancy.

Move more to live longer

Glenn Gaesser, a professor of exercise physiology at Arizona State University’s College of Health Solutions, wasn’t surprised by the results of the Sydney study. He said they confirmed previous research showing an association between cumulative changes in exercise and increased life expectancy.

“Those who walk zero to 10 minutes a day will benefit more than those who walk 30 to 40 minutes,” said Gaesser, who was not involved in either study. “Beyond 40, we obtain a law of diminishing returns. »

The Sydney study showed that the benefits of exercise peaked at 50 minutes per day, meaning that exercising beyond this limit was not linked to a longer lifespan.

Fitness habits – or lack thereof – are difficult to change, Gaesser said: “The best indicator of future behavior is past behavior. » Nevertheless, science suggests that a small change can go a long way.

“You don’t need to make major lifestyle changes to achieve health benefits,” he said.

Focus on small nutritional improvements

The Sydney study has notable limitations. The diet data was self-reported, which is notoriously inaccurate, and the observational research was based on relatively brief records of sleep and exercise.

Dr. David D’Alessio, chief of the division of endocrinology, metabolism and nutrition at Duke University School of Medicine, said, “It’s really hard to be that precise when you’re looking at 30,000 feet.” »

Sleep, exercise and diet “should be tested in an interventional way to be able to say that small pieces really make a difference, half a cup of vegetables makes a difference,” said D’Alessio, who was not involved in either study.

However, D’Alessio understands how difficult it is to change your health habits. “What I always stress is that you have to lose 5 pounds before you lose 10 pounds.”