Study reveals the small changes to your diet, sleep and exercise that can add years to your life

Key Points:

• Recent research from the University of Sydney shows that small, consistent lifestyle changes—such as an extra half-serving of vegetables, 96 seconds of exercise, and 15 minutes more sleep per day—can significantly improve health and longevity.
• The optimal combination to reduce all-cause mortality risk includes moderate sleep (7.2 to 8 hours), 42-103 minutes of moderate to vigorous physical activity daily, and a high-quality diet rich in vegetables, fruits, fish, and whole grains.
• Even minimal increases in sleep, physical activity, and diet quality can lower mortality risk; for example, an additional 15 minutes of sleep, 1.6 minutes of exercise, and a small dietary improvement were linked to a 10% lower risk of death.
• Larger combined improvements in sleep, activity, and diet could add up to 9 additional years of lifespan and healthspan, defined as years lived free of major chronic diseases like cardiovascular disease and diabetes.
• The research emphasizes sustainable, manageable changes over drastic lifestyle overhauls, encouraging people to adopt small, long-term improvements rather than short-term, intense health kicks that are hard to maintain.