Fitness: Small changes can add years to your life

There are lots of products, companies and lifestyle gurus selling the promise of a longer, healthier life. But a new study published in The Lancet reveals the secret to longevity isn’t found in pills, powders or hard to follow regimens. Instead, sleep, nutrition and exercise are the secret to adding years to your life. 

“Modifying SPAN (sleep, physical activity and nutrition) behaviors presents a viable strategy to extend health span (years of life living disease-free) by influencing the trajectory of biological aging and delaying the onset of chronic diseases,” said the study’s researchers led by a team from the University of Sydney in Australia. 

There are plenty of studies linking insufficient sleep, poor nutrition and a lack of exercise to an increased risk of chronic disease, poor cardiometabolic health and an unhealthy weight, all of which can whittle away at life expectancy. But very few have looked at the combined effect when all three behaviours are improved.

“SPAN behaviours have traditionally been researched and promoted in isolation from each other without recognition of their behavioural interdependence and their synergistic effects on health outcomes,” the researchers said. 

Using a data set of 502,629 adults (40-69 years of age) living in the U.K., sleep and physical activity habits were recorded by a wrist-worn accelerometer and diet evaluated using a questionnaire. The researchers scored each of the behaviours and followed up on the combined effect of those behaviours on health and longevity eight years later.

The results indicate it doesn’t take a lot of change to live longer. Five extra minutes of sleep per day along with two additional minutes of physical activity and an added half serving of vegetables/or 1.5 servings of whole grains per day added an extra year of life. 

For an even greater boost to lifespan, adding 24 minutes of sleep per day plus four minutes of exercise and one cup of vegetables, one serving of whole grains per day and two servings of fish per week, resulted in four extra years of good health and longevity. 

If you’re surprised by the effect of such small changes, keep in mind the results are based on improvements in not only one, but all three lifestyle behaviours. 

“When considered individually, substantially higher levels of each behaviour were required to achieve a similar extension in lifespan, or the improvements were not possible at all,” the researchers said. 

The good news is the degree of change necessary to improve longevity isn’t that intimidating. So, for people who struggle achieving the minimum recommended quota of exercise (150 minutes per week), sleep (seven to nine hours a night) and fruits and vegetables (7-10 servings a day), focusing on small changes in each of these areas can lead to unexpected benefits. 

“We showed that while individual SPAN behaviours required substantial amounts to achieve improvements in lifespan and healthspan, when addressed in combination, the overall dose needed for meaningful improvements was substantially lower,” the researchers said.

And for people who excel in one or two of these behaviours, the findings reveal there’s value in looking at a healthy lifestyle through a wider lens. Are you sacrificing sleep in favour of exercise? Do you think training for a marathon gives you a hall pass when it comes to loading your plate with plenty of fruit and vegetables?

Don’t get me wrong, there’s plenty of proof demonstrating maintaining high levels of fitness has a positive effect on health and longevity. But this study suggests there are more gains to be found by improving on other aspects of your lifestyle.

The study’s authors also remarked the results underlined the importance of sleep in overall health. Sleeping eight hours per night added four additional years to lifespan and health span compared with getting only five hours of shut-eye a night. 

Diet, on the other hand, showed less of an effect when looked at in isolation. But the researchers warn not to discount its influence when combined with sleep and exercise. 

The other interesting fact about this study is sleep and exercise were measured objectively by a wrist-worn accelerometer, freeing the results from the bias of self-reporting. This is especially significant as the inclination to “round up” when it comes to reporting on exercise habits is almost universal. 

Wearable technology allows individuals to track their own lifestyle habits. Smart watches record minutes spent being active and in sleep, and there are plenty of nutrition apps that assist in creating a food diary to record dietary intake. Armed with your own personal data it’s easy to determine areas that need improvement and make appropriate changes understanding that even small adjustments can have a big effect. 

“These findings suggest that leveraging the synergy of combined SPAN behaviours may enable new opportunities for feasible and sustainable approaches for improving lifespan and healthspan in adults who may lack the time, motivation or financial resources to make substantial lifestyle changes,” the researchers said.

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