More than half of people now consider sleep the single most important habit for longevity. That is the headline from Resmed's 2026 Global Sleep Survey, in which 53 percent ranked sleep ahead of diet and exercise.
The sixth annual survey drew responses from 30,000 adults across 13 countries, from the United States and India to Germany, Japan and Brazil. Awareness ran higher still, with 84 percent agreeing that consistent, quality sleep helps extend a healthy lifespan.
Recognition is not the same as rest. Over half of respondents said they get quality sleep only four nights a week or fewer, and while 66 percent said they would seek medical help for sleep issues, only 23 percent actually do.
"People are increasingly recognizing sleep as a cornerstone to long-term health, which is encouraging. But recognition alone is not enough," said Dr. Carlos Nunez, chief medical officer at Resmed.
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Why sleep gets top billing
There are real biological reasons for the shift. A 2022 review in Nutrients found that sleep deprivation raises the appetite-stimulating hormone ghrelin and lowers leptin, the hormone that signals fullness. Food intake tends to rise as a result.
Chronic short sleep is also tied to cardiovascular strain. The US National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute links sleep deficiency to heart disease, high blood pressure, stroke and obesity, alongside effects on mood and concentration.
Sleep is also faster to feel than most diet changes. A better night's rest tends to produce a noticeable next-day payoff in energy and mood, while nutrition and exercise gains often show up over weeks or months.
The stronger answer is all three together
Sleep alone, though, is not the whole answer. A cohort study of 59,078 UK Biobank participants, published in eClinicalMedicine in January 2026, tracked sleep, activity and diet using wrist-worn accelerometers and food questionnaires.
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"By investigating these factors in combination, we can see that even small tweaks have a significant cumulative impact over the long-term," said Dr Nicholas Koemel, the lead author, from the University of Sydney's Charles Perkins Centre.
For people with the poorest baseline habits, adding just 5 more minutes of sleep, 2 more minutes of moderate activity and half a serving of vegetables a day was linked to about one extra year of life.
At the top end, participants who slept 7 to 8 hours a night, did 42 to 103 minutes of moderate to vigorous activity a day and scored highest on diet quality were associated with 9.35 additional years of life compared to the group with the worst habits.
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This article is made and published by Jesper Bengtson, who may have used AI in the preparation.