on PinterestSimple lifestyle changes, such as getting a few extra minutes of sleep and exercise each day, can improve heart health.
on PinterestSimple lifestyle changes, such as getting a few extra minutes of sleep and exercise each day, can improve heart health. Ryan Tuttle/Stocksy
- Researchers say that small changes in sleep, diet, and exercise can have a substantial impact on heart health.
- They report that modest changes, such as 11 more minutes of sleep per night and 5 additional minutes of exercise per day, can lower the risk of serious cardiovascular events.
- Experts say the findings are encouraging for people who can only make small adjustments to their daily lifestyle routines.
Making small improvements in how much you sleep, what you eat, and how much you exercise can significantly reduce your risk of heart health issues, according to a new study.
Researchers report that people who get 11 more minutes of sleep, add 5 minutes of physical activity to their daily routine, and eat a quarter-cup more vegetables per day can lower their risk of cardiovascular events, such as heart attack and stroke, by 10%.
They added that people who have an optimal combination of lifestyle behaviors that include 8 to 9 hours of sleep per night, 42 minutes of moderate-to-vigorous physical activity per day, and a moderate diet quality score have a 57% lower risk of major cardiovascular events compared to people with the least optimal health profile.
The researchers published their findings on March 23 in the European Journal of Preventive Cardiology.
They noted that their research was an observational study, so it cannot establish a definitive cause-and-effect relationship between lifestyle habits and cardiovascular events. They recommended conducting intervention trials to confirm their findings.
The researchers said their study could help people adopt simple lifestyle changes to improve heart health.
“We show that combining small changes in a few areas of our lives can have a surprisingly large positive impact on our cardiovascular health,” said Nicholas Koemel, the lead study author and a research fellow and dietitian at the in a press release.
“This is very encouraging news because making a few small, combined changes is likely more achievable and sustainable for most people when compared with attempting major changes in a single behavior.”
Small lifestyle changes impact heart health
In this study, researchers examined data from more than 53,000 participants in the UK Biobank. The median age of the subjects was 63 years and nearly 57% were male.
The Biobank data on sleep and exercise was gathered from wearable technology such as smartwatches. The information on diet was gleaned from self-reports from participants and measured on a 10-item diet quality score.
During an 8-year follow-up period, 2,034 major cardiovascular events were recorded among participants. Among them were 932 incidents of myocardial infarction, 584 strokes, and 518 heart failure events.
The researchers concluded that even “modest differences” in combined behavior levels “were associated with meaningful reductions” in the risks of major cardiovascular events.
Experts who weren’t involved in the study said the findings provide guidance for both individuals and medical professionals.
“This is an encouraging finding that reiterates the importance of maintaining a healthy lifestyle in order to optimize our heart health,” said Cheng-Han Chen, MD,
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