Small lifestyle changes linked to increase in lifespan, two major studies find

Two studies published in Australia and Norway in January 2026 related to lifestyle changes reported that relatively small daily life changes in physical activity, sedentary behaviour, sleep, and diet are helping to increase in the longer lifespan and healthspan.

Norway based study

One study, led by Norwegian researchers and published in The Lancet, titled “Deaths potentially averted by small changes in physical activity and sedentary time: an individual participant data meta-analysis of prospective cohort studies”, examined whether small increases in moderate-to-vigorous physical activity and reductions in sedentary time were linked to lower mortality. 

The researchers estimated that five additional minutes per day of moderate-to-vigorous activity could be associated with delaying around 6% of premature deaths during the study period if adopted by the least active individuals, or about 10% if adopted by all except the most active, at the population level.

Reducing sedentary time by 30 minutes per day was associated with an estimated 3% to 7.3% of premature deaths delayed over the same period, depending on how widely the change was adopted.

Australian based study

The second study titled “Minimum combined sleep, physical activity, and nutrition variations associated with lifeSPAN and healthSPAN improvements: a population cohort study” led by Australian researchers and published in eClinicalMedicine, examined combined changes in sleep duration, physical activity, and diet quality using a prospective cohort. 

It found that optimal levels across all three behaviours were associated with longer lifespan, with the largest gains linked to 7.2 to 8.0 hours of sleep per night, more than 42 minutes of moderate-to-vigorous activity per day, and higher diet quality scores. 

The authors reported that even small, incremental changes in daily habits were linked to measurable differences in mortality risk, lifespan, and healthspan at the population level.