Could an extra 11 minutes of sleep a night really have a meaningful impact on your health?

If you combine it with an additional 4.5 minutes of moderate-to-vigorous exercise and an extra quarter of a cup of vegies each day, the answer may be yes.

New research suggests that when it comes to heart health, a little goes a long way, with the above small lifestyle changes found to reduce by 10 per cent the risk of suffering a “major cardiovascular event” such as a heart attack, stroke or heart failure.

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

“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.”

The study, conducted by Australian and international researchers, followed more than 53,000 adults from data collection platform UK Biobank over an eight‑year period. The activity levels of participants were estimated through wearable devices, while diet was assessed using a food frequency questionnaire.

Sleep, physical activity and nutrition are widely recognised as influencing the risk of cardiovascular disease – the leading cause of death internationally. But in their paper published in the European Journal of Preventative Cardiology, the researchers said few previous studies had explored all three behaviours in combination.

“In our daily lives, however, these different behaviours can influence each other, which means studying their impact together is more meaningful,” they explained.

“For example, poor sleep disrupts the normal transmission of appetite hormones, influencing what people eat and making them more likely to overeat. Physical activity improves sleep quality, but lack of sleep may reduce physical activity due to tiredness.”

The researchers also said some people were discouraged by “one-size-fits-all” approaches involving targets such as completing 150–300 minutes per week of moderate-to-vigorous physical activity and/or substantially restricting calories.

“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,” Koemel said.

For those wondering what qualifies as “moderate-to-vigorous activity”, the study explains it can include “everyday tasks such as taking the stairs, carrying shopping bags, or walking briskly”.

Even an extra quarter cup of vegies a day can help your heart health. Photo: Pexels

In Australia, deaths from coronary heart disease have been falling in recent years, but Australian Bureau of Statistics data released in late 2025 showed it is still the leading cause of death for men and people living in outer regional and remote areas.

According to the latest figures shared by the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare, an estimated 1.3 million Aussies aged 18 and over (or 6.7 per cent of the adult population) are living with conditions related to heart, stroke or vascular disease.

While the new research found even small lifestyle changes can have a surprising impact, it also revealed that the “optimal combination of behaviours” involved sleeping for eight to nine hours each night, completing more than 42 minutes of moderate-to-vigorous physical activity per day, and a “moderately healthy” diet.

This combination was linked with a 57 per cent lower risk of major cardiovascular problems.

Koemel said that even modest shifts in a person’s daily routine could lead to them making further changes in the long run.

The researchers emphasised that their findings were based on an observational study, suggesting that intervention trials were needed to “fully confirm” the conclusions.

Nonetheless, another of the senior authors, Emmanuel Stamatakis, said the research would be helpful in developing new digital tools to support people in making positive lifestyle changes.

“This will involve working closely with community members to make sure the tools are easy to use and can address the barriers we all face in making tweaks to our day-to-day routines,” said Stamatakis, professor of physical activity and population health at the University of Sydney and Monash University.