Science and society in general do not cease in their attempt to achieve a formula to be able to extend life a little more, or at least reach have an older age with a better quality of life. In this sense, there are numerous articles that promise this type of improvement, although logically there is nothing miraculous here, but many different factors influence it.
A new rule. A trick that has begun to have a presence among specialists In the world of healthcare it is the 5-2-½ rule. According to this premise, it is enough to sleep five more minutes, do two extra minutes of exercise and eat half a serving more of vegetables a day to mathematically gain an entire year of life expectancy.
Its origin. This statement is supported by science, and specifically by a study recently published in The Lancet. The work in this case sought to answer a very specific question: what is the minimum change in our daily habits that achieves a measurable impact on longevity?
To find out, the researchers did not take a dozen volunteers, but rather went to the UK Biobank, one of the most complete medical databases, to analyze a total of 59,078 participants with an average follow-up of 8.1 years.
The analysis. With all these people they decided to measure sleep time, moderate to vigorous intensity physical activity, and diet quality using a dietary scoring system.
The mathematics. By cross-referencing the data and applying statistical models, the scientists found a “minimum combination” that was statistically associated with adding a year to life expectancy. The exact numbers of the andstudio were:
- 5 more minutes of sleep a day.
- 1.9 more minutes of moderate-vigorous physical activity daily, which is rounded up to two minutes.
- 5 points of improvement in the dietary quality index, which is approximately equivalent to half an extra serving of vegetables per day.
The small print. As with other similar studies, this is an observational study on a population whose lifestyle habits were studied. But it is not a trial that was 100% controlled, where one group was forced to sleep five more minutes and another not to sleep to compare what happened. And this takes a little weight off it.
Furthermore, the “extra year of life” is a statistical model at the population level. This means that, if an entire society applied these slight changes, global life expectancy would increase in mathematical models. The problem is that at the individual level, biology is not that mathematical and that is why you cannot compensate for smoking or a severe genetic disease by eating half an extra tomato for dinner.
Microhabits. Despite the nuances, the underlying message of the study is tremendously positive. Historically, public health messages have been overwhelming, advertising phrases such as “do 150 minutes of exercise a week”, “radically change your diet”, “get 8 hours of sleep without fail”. This study scientifically demonstrates the immense power of microhabits.
It basically tells us that we don’t need to prepare for a marathon or embrace extreme diets for our body to notice it. Adding a handful of spinach to your meal, getting off the subway a stop earlier to walk for two minutes at a good pace, or going to bed a little earlier are actions with almost zero friction.
Images | Vitaly Gariev
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