The 8 metrics

8%higherRISK OF DYING

sleeping 4 hours a night instead of 7 (Yin 2017)

In Yin 2017, compared with 7 hours, long sleep was linked to a bigger rise in the risk of dying, from any cause, than short sleep: 10 hours 32% higher, 4 hours 8% higher.

4%higherRISK OF DYING

sleeping 5 hours a night instead of 7 (Yin 2017)

In Yin 2017, compared with 7 hours, long sleep was linked to a bigger rise in the risk of dying, from any cause, than short sleep: 10 hours 32% higher, 4 hours 8% higher.

1%higherRISK OF DYING

sleeping 6 hours a night instead of 7 (Yin 2017)

In Yin 2017, compared with 7 hours, long sleep was linked to a bigger rise in the risk of dying, from any cause, than short sleep: 10 hours 32% higher, 4 hours 8% higher.

32%higherRISK OF DYING

sleeping 10 hours a night instead of 7 in generally healthy populations (Yin 2017)

In Yin 2017, compared with 7 hours, long sleep was linked to a bigger rise in the risk of dying, from any cause, than short sleep: 10 hours 32% higher, 4 hours 8% higher.

7%lowerRISK OF DYING

for every extra 8 grams of fiber a day in adults without chronic disease (Reynolds 2019)

In Reynolds 2019, each extra 8 grams of fiber a day was linked to about a 7% lower risk of dying, from any cause.

2xhigherHEART & STROKE DEATH

for every 20 points higher on your top blood pressure number, or 10 on the bottom. That heart and stroke risk keeps falling all the way down to 115/75 (Lewington 2002, ages 40 to 69)

Lewington 2002 linked 20 mmHg higher systolic (or 10 diastolic) to over twice the stroke death rate at ages 40–69. The score counts readings above 120/80 as raising all-cause risk, by an amount it sets itself.

14%higherRISK OF DYING

at an A1c of 6.0 to under 6.5 instead of 5.0 to under 5.5 (Schöttker 2016, 6 cohorts, 28,681 adults)

Schöttker et al. 2016 linked HbA1c of 6.0 to just under 6.5 with a higher risk of dying, from any cause, than 5.0 to just under 5.5 in adults 50 and older without diabetes.

14%lowerRISK OF DYING

for each 1 MET more cardio fitness — the unit a treadmill test reports — in a sample that was 81% men (Singh 2024, 42 studies)

In Singh 2024, each 1 MET of cardio fitness (3.5 mL/kg/min of oxygen use) was linked to about a 14% lower risk of dying, from any cause.

47%lowerRISK OF DYING

walking 7,000 steps a day instead of 2,000 in adults (Ding 2025, 14 studies)

In Ding 2025, walking 7,000 steps a day was linked to about half the risk of dying, from any cause, of walking 2,000 (47% lower).

17%higherRISK OF DYING

for every 10 beats a minute faster your resting pulse (Aune 2017, 48 studies)

Every 10 beats per minute faster at rest is linked to about a 17% higher risk of dying, from any cause, in a combined analysis of 48 studies (Aune 2017).

17%lowerRISK OF DYING

about 40 minutes a week of muscle-strengthening instead of none in adults aged 18 and up (Momma 2022, 6-study dose-response analysis)

In Momma 2022, about 40 minutes a week of muscle-strengthening was linked to a 17% lower risk of dying, from any cause, than none. Lowest risk was at about 30 to 60 minutes a week; whether more helps is not settled.