Tiny Shifts In Eating, Sleeping, And Exercise Can Make Bigger Longevity Changes Than You Might Think

It can feel like living a “healthy” life means living perfectly – getting at least seven hours of sleep, hitting exercise targets consistently, and eating the most balanced diet possible. 

So perhaps it’s no wonder that few of us actually hit all of those markers. A 2025 study showed that globally, only 13% of us get both seven to nine hours of sleep and reach at least 8,000 steps daily. 

And that’s without the “healthy diet” part. A majority of UK adults, for instance, don’t eat the recommended five portions of fruit and veg a day.

Is seeking a healthy lifestyle, then, a lost cause? Not according to new research from the journal eClinicalMedicine, which found that very small changes to sleep, activity, and diet can have surprisingly transformative effects. 

What did the research show? 

The scientists looked at data from 60,000 people in the UK Biobank. 

They linked the existing lifestyle habits of participants to their projected healthspan and lifespan, following the data for an average of 8.1 years.

The researchers found some surprising results in the projected health of participants from what appeared to be minute changes. 

Those who slept as little as five minutes longer, ate a measly half-portion of fruit and veg a day, and/or exercised just two minutes more than those in the bottom 5% of healthy lifestyle patterns were expected to live a year longer. 

“Modest concurrent improvements in sleep, physical activity, and diet were associated with meaningful gains in lifespan and healthspan,” the paper reads.

Of course, extra effort did pay off. 

At least 40 minutes of moderate-to-vigorous exercise a day, an overall healthy diet, and seven to nine hours of sleep a night were linked to an added nine years of life, as well as nine extra healthy years, compared to those in the bottom 3% of healthy habits.

Combined efforts mattered more than single pushes 

“Concurrent” improvements in all three aspects (diet, food, and sleep) were linked to better results. 

In other words, doing a little better on all three counts seemed to matter more than doing well on one. 25 minutes more sleep a night, without changes to any other factors, was linked to the same lifespan benefits as five minutes’ extra sleep with two more minutes’ exercise a day and a half-portion more of fruit or veg. 

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

That’s not to say that trying to significantly improve your health habits won’t be beneficial. 

But it suggested what experts have said before: even a little improvement in your lifestyle habits is far, far better than none.