An Extra 11 Minutes in Bed Could Save your Life

More sleep and brisk walking are two simple changes recommended for improved cardiovascular health

Sleeping for 11 minutes more each night can significantly reduce the likelihood of a heart attack.

Academics found small changes including doing 4.5 additional minutes of brisk walking and eating an extra quarter cup of vegetables each day could help people avoid major cardiovascular events, including heart attacks and strokes, by around 10 per cent.

Small behaviour changes are more “achievable and sustainable”, the research team said.

In the study, published in the European Journal of Preventive Cardiology, experts from Australia, Chile and Brazil examined data on more than 53,000 middle-aged UK adults taking part in the Biobank study.

Researchers looked at people’s sleep habits and levels of exercise through data from wearable technology like smart watches.

People also self-reported their dietary habits.

The researchers found that 2,034 major cardiovascular events occurred during an eight-year follow-up period.

They were able to identify the “optimal” way people can avoid these incidents including a good diet; eight to nine hours’ sleep per night and a minimum of at least 42 minutes of moderate-to-vigorous physical activity each day.

Combining these measures leads to a 57 per cent lower risk of heart attacks and strokes.

They also found the “clinically relevant” combination of behaviours people can do to reduce their risk, including more sleep, better diet and more moderate-to-vigorous activity.

According to the NHS website, moderate activity can include brisk walking; dancing; pushing a lawn mower; water aerobics and riding a bike.

Vigorous activity includes running; swimming; skipping and aerobics.

Dr Nicholas Koemel, lead author and research fellow at the University of Sydney, said: “We show that combining small changes in a few areas of our lives can have a surprisingly large positive impact on our cardiovascular health.

“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 behaviour.

“Making even modest shifts in our daily routines is likely to have cardiovascular benefits as well as create opportunities for further changes in the long run.

Advertisements

“I would encourage people not to overlook the importance of making a small change or two to your daily routine, no matter how small they may seem.”

Source: www.telegraph.co.uk/