A tin of sixteen spices, neatly arranged in a grid on a wooden table.

The research behind
The Good Span.

Every practice in The Good Span is informed by scientific research on how to live a longer, healthier life.

From our research library

Our practice library brings together more than 200 practices informed by scientific research across nutrition, sleep, movement, mind, connection and prevention. Each draws on evidence about the everyday habits and behaviours that can support a longer, healthier life — from sleeping well and moving regularly to nurturing relationships and keeping up with preventive care.

Nutrition

What your gut bacteria can tell us about eating more plants

McDonald et al. (2018), mSystems

In one of the largest studies of the gut microbiome, people who ate more than 30 different plant foods a week had more diverse gut bacteria than people who ate 10 or fewer. Variety seems to matter as much as quantity, and adding one new plant food each week is an easy way to build it.

Connection

The 30-minute rule that helped college students feel less lonely

Hunt et al. (2018), Journal of Social and Clinical Psychology

143 students were randomly asked either to limit Facebook, Instagram and Snapchat to 10 minutes each a day or to carry on as usual. After three weeks, the group that cut back felt significantly less lonely and less depressed.

Movement

122,000 treadmill tests later, fitness still predicted who lived longer

Mandsager et al. (2018), JAMA Network Open

Across 122,007 adults followed for around eight years, every step up in measured fitness was linked to a lower risk of death, with no upper limit. Low fitness carried a risk comparable to smoking or diabetes.

Sleep

60,000 participants, seven years, one clear signal: regular sleep timing beats sleep duration for survival

Windred et al. (2024), Sleep

Using wrist-tracker data from 60,977 people, researchers found that those with more regular sleep and wake times had a 20 to 48 percent lower risk of death than those with the least regular sleep. Keeping a steady routine predicted long-term health better than the number of hours slept.

If a question goes beyond what your Pilot can help with, they can introduce you to the right specialist.

Coming soon

Our Advisory Board

GoodSpan is bringing together an Advisory Board of experts from across medicine and health, longevity science, nutrition, psychology, exercise science and public health.

Drawing on diverse scientific and professional perspectives, the board will help shape our approach to longevity and wellbeing, strengthen the evidence behind our work and ensure that our programmes continue to evolve alongside advances in research and our understanding of healthy ageing.

Areas of expertise

Medicine and health
Longevity science
Nutrition
Psychology
Exercise science
Public health

The research behind The Good Span.