New Delhi, Jan 14 (NationPress) A recent study reveals that an additional five minutes of sleep and just two minutes of moderate exercise, such as brisk walking or stair climbing, can potentially extend your life by one year. The research, which observed 60,000 individuals over an extensive period of eight years, also indicated that increasing vegetable intake by half a serving daily could further contribute to an additional year of life for those with the poorest sleep, exercise, and dietary patterns.

The findings, published in The Lancet journal eClinicalMedicine, indicate that achieving between seven to eight hours of sleep daily, alongside over 40 minutes of moderate to vigorous physical activity and maintaining a healthy diet, is linked with an increase of over nine years in both lifespan and years of good health.

According to the international research team from the UK, Australia, Chile, and Brazil, “The combined effect of sleep, physical activity, and diet is greater than the sum of the individual factors. For example, individuals with the most unhealthy sleep, exercise, and dietary habits would need to increase their sleep by five times (25 minutes) to gain one additional year of life, assuming only sleep improved.”

In another study published in The Lancet, researchers from Norway, Spain, and Australia found that incorporating just five minutes of extra walking into daily routines could reduce the mortality risk for most adults by 10%. It may also help the least active adults lower their risk of death by approximately 6%.

Furthermore, the research involving over 135,000 adults indicated that decreasing sedentary time by 30 minutes daily could lead to a 7% reduction in all-cause mortality, especially among adults who typically spend around 10 hours a day being inactive.

For the most sedentary individuals, an estimated 3% of all deaths could be mitigated with this change (those averaging 12 hours of inactivity daily).

“These findings underscore the significant public health implications of even modest improvements in physical activity and reductions in inactivity,” stated Prof Ulf Ekelund from the Norwegian School of Sport Sciences in Oslo.

The researchers emphasized that while these results are promising, they should not be interpreted as personalized advice but rather as evidence of the potential benefits for the general population.