THURSDAY, April 2, 2026 (HealthDay News) -- Small improvements across the combination of sleep, physical activity, and nutrition (SPAN) may significantly reduce the risk for major adverse cardiovascular events (MACE), according to a study published online March 23 in the European Journal of Preventive Cardiology.
Nicholas A. Koemel, Ph.D., R.D., from the University of Sydney, and colleagues examined the multibehavior associations of SPAN with the risk for MACE and its subtypes. The analysis included 53,242 participants from the U.K. Biobank followed for eight years.
The researchers found that compared with the lowest tertile for all SPAN behaviors, the optimal SPAN combination of 8.0 to 9.4 hours/day of sleep, 42 to 104 minutes/day of moderate-to-vigorous physical activity (MVPA), and a diet quality score of 32.5 to 50.0 was associated with a lower risk for MACE (hazard ratio [HR], 0.43). The median SPAN score of 52.8 also was associated with a lower risk for MACE (HR, 0.59). For MACE components, the median SPAN score reduced the risk for heart failure (HR, 0.53), myocardial infarction (HR, 0.65), and stroke (HR, 0.52). For each additional 11 minutes/day of sleep, 4.5 minutes/day MVPA, and 3-point increase in diet quality score, there was a 10 percent lower MACE risk.
"Making even modest shifts in our daily routines is likely to have cardiovascular benefits," Koemel said in a statement. "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."
One author disclosed ties to a company that provides lifestyle therapy.