5 Minutes of Movement Could Prevent 10% of Deaths

What if adding a single five-minute walk to your day could help you live longer? That's exactly what two major studies just confirmed, and the implications are giving health researchers real hope.

Norwegian researchers analyzed data from thousands of participants and found something remarkable. When the least active people added just five minutes of moderate exercise daily, it could prevent 6% of all deaths. When nearly everyone except the most active joined in, that number jumped to 10%.

The findings get even better. Reducing sitting time by just 30 minutes a day showed similar life-saving potential, preventing up to 7.3% of deaths when adopted widely.

Australian scientists took a different approach, examining how sleep, exercise, and diet work together. They discovered that optimal combinations—7.2 to 8 hours of sleep, 42 minutes of moderate activity, and a healthy diet—added more than nine years to lifespan.

But here's where it gets truly accessible. Even minimal combined changes showed benefits. Adding five minutes of sleep, less than two minutes of exercise, and a small diet improvement were linked to one extra year of life.

For healthspan (years lived in good health), the bar remained low. Twenty-four more minutes of sleep, under four minutes more exercise, and modest diet improvements added four healthy years.

The Ripple Effect

These studies challenge everything we thought about healthy living requiring dramatic transformation. Physical inactivity causes up to 9% of global deaths, but the solution doesn't demand marathon training or complete dietary overhauls.

The research teams specifically focused on "small, realistic shifts" because past threshold-based recommendations—like 150 minutes of weekly exercise—often discouraged people who couldn't meet those targets. By showing that every minute counts, these findings make healthy aging accessible to everyone.

Device-measured data revealed what self-reported surveys missed: tiny increments matter more than previously understood. A five-minute walk after dinner, trading one hour of sitting for standing while you work, sleeping 20 minutes longer—these aren't monumental sacrifices.

Both studies, published in The Lancet and eClinicalMedicine, used large population cohorts to ensure their findings reflect real-world patterns. The message is clear: you don't need to overhaul your entire life to extend it.

The research offers something rare in health science—a path forward that feels genuinely achievable, where small daily victories compound into years of life and health.