Everyone seems to be obsessed with slowing down ageing and extending their healthy years. Now, a new study published in The Lancet has identified the everyday habits most strongly associated with a longer, healthier life. Researchers analysed data from 59,078 UK participants – and the findings suggest you don't need to overhaul your lifestyle to see meaningful benefits.
The Study
Researchers analysed data from 59,078 UK Biobank participants over an eight-year period. They assessed participants' sleep, physical activity and diet quality to examine how different combinations of health behaviours were associated with lifespan and healthspan.
The Results
Compared with participants who had the least favourable combination of health behaviours, those with the most favourable were estimated to gain an additional 9.35 years of lifespan and 9.45 years of healthspan.
The researchers also identified the minimum changes associated with meaningful benefits. They found that an additional five minutes of sleep, 1.9 extra minutes of moderate-to-vigorous physical activity and a five-point improvement in diet quality were each associated with approximately one extra year of life expectancy.
Meanwhile, an extra 24 minutes of sleep, 3.7 additional minutes of moderate-to-vigorous physical activity and a 23-point improvement in diet quality were associated with approximately four additional years of healthspan.
What Does This Mean for You?
According to Dr Pak Androulakis-Korakakis: 'This was an observational study, so these findings should not be interpreted as causal or as a guarantee that making these changes will extend lifespan by a specific number of years.
'They do, however, support the idea that modest improvements across multiple behaviours may be more impactful than pursuing perfection in a single one. As always, something > nothing, even for health.'
Kate is a fitness writer for Men’s Health UK where she contributes regular workouts, training tips and nutrition guides. She has a post graduate diploma in Sports Performance Nutrition and before joining Men’s Health she was a nutritionist, fitness writer and personal trainer with over 5k hours coaching on the gym floor. Kate has a keen interest in volunteering for animal shelters and when she isn’t lifting weights in her garden, she can be found walking her rescue dog.
