Small changes to a person’s everyday routine could lead to a longer life — even without a ton of exercise.
Getting more sleep and eating more vegetables along could reduce the risk of premature death by at least 10 percent, according to the latest research.
“The findings suggest that focusing on combined small changes across multiple behaviors may offer a more powerful and sustainable strategy to improve health outcomes than targeting larger changes in an individual behavior,” University of Sydney dietician Dr. Nicholas Koemel said in a statement.
Koemel is the co-lead researcher of the study which was published on Monday in the journal Circulation.
Researchers in the study used data from the U.K. Biobank that tracked more than 59,000 participants over the span of eight years.
Of the study’s more than 24,000 subjects, the adults moved with more purpose, The Washington Post reported, but they didn’t quite exercise.
They wore trackers for seven days and reported diet-related data. The researchers used machine learning to calculate the number of wearable-device-measured sleep and activity each day, cross-checking against hospital and death data.
The quality of participants’ diet was scored based on what they consumed, including vegetables, fruits, fish, dairy, whole grains, vegetable oils, refined grains, processed and unprocessed meats, and sugary beverages.
Stamatakis told The Post that they found even a light stroll slightly reduced risk for cardiovascular problems and death compared to people who recorded nearly zero activity. To see much benefit, however, people needed more than two hours of light activity a day.
But with even moderate movement for 24 minutes a day, the risk of developing or dying from cardiovascular problems dropped by as much as 50 percent.
The benefit for vigorous exercise was even better. With just around five minutes of rushing a day was associated with a nearly 40 percent less likelihood of dying from heart problems.
“Look for opportunities” to ramp up the intensity of activity, Stamatakis advised. That includes taking the stairs or “sprint walking.”
Or “garden as fast as you can,” he said. “There are plenty of opportunities to add a little more exertion” to what you’re going to be doing anyway, he added.
