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Just a little sleep, exercise and a healthy diet can reduce your heart health risks
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Small improvements reduced the risk by 10%
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The best combination of lifestyle habits reduced the risk by 57%
THURSDAY, March 26, 2026 (NewsDay News) — Even small improvements in your daily habits — a few more minutes of sleep, a few extra minutes of exercise, a daily serving of vegetables — can lower your risk. sweetheartstroke and heart failure, says a new study.
People who slept 11 minutes longer, exercised an extra 4.5 minutes and ate a quarter cup of vegetables had a 10 percent lower risk of serious heart problems, researchers reported March 23. European Journal of Preventive Cardiology.
The researchers found that those who had the best combination of these lifestyles were rewarded with a 57% lower risk of heart problems compared to those with the worst habits.
“We show that the combination of small changes in some areas of our lives can have a surprisingly positive effect on our cardiovascular health,” said the lead researcher. Nicholas Comela researcher at the University of Sydney in Australia, said in a news release.
“This is very encouraging news because making several small, cumulative changes is more feasible and sustainable for most people than trying to make a major change in one behavior,” Komel said.
For the new study, researchers followed more than 53,000 adults participating in the UK Biobank, a long-term health research project in the UK. Participants were followed for eight years.
The results showed that the best lifestyle for heart health included getting eight to nine hours of sleep a night, getting more than 42 minutes of moderate physical activity and eating a healthy diet.
Researchers found that people who followed this pattern had a 57% lower risk of heart problems.
The team noted that the type of exercise that improves heart health can be as simple as climbing stairs, carrying shopping bags or walking.
A healthy diet includes more vegetables, fruits, fish, dairy products, whole grains and vegetable oils and less refined grains, processed meats, red meat and sugary drinks, the researchers said.
“I would encourage people not to underestimate the importance of making one or two small changes to their daily routine, no matter how small,” Koemel said.
Senior scientific worker Emmanuel Stamatakis said new tools are in the works to help those efforts.
“We plan to build on these findings to develop new digital tools that help people make positive lifestyle changes and establish healthy habits,” said Stamatakis, professor of physical activity and population health at the University of Sydney and Monash University.
“This involves working closely with community members to make sure the tools are easy to use and to address the barriers we all face when making changes to our daily routines,” he said in a news release.
More information
The American Heart Association has more on that Vital 8 for heart health.
Source: European Society of Cardiology, release, March 24, 2026
What does this mean for you?
People should try to make small healthy changes in their daily routine.
