A landmark study led by University of Sydney has found that people become more active, sleep better and reduce their sitting time when they retire.

Published in the Journal of Preventative Medicine, the study followed the lifestyle behaviors of 25,000 older Australians including physical activity, diet, sedentary behavior, alcohol use and sleep patterns.

“Our research revealed that retirement was associated with positive lifestyle changes,” said lead researcher Dr Melody Ding, Senior Research Fellow at the University’s School of Public Health.

“Compared with people who were still working, retirees had increased physically activity levels, reduced sitting time, were less likely to smoke, and had healthier sleep patterns.

“A major life change like retirement creates a great window of opportunity to make positive lifestyle changes – it’s a chance to get rid of bad routines and engineer new, healthier behaviors.” she said.

The data revealed that retirees:
•    Increased physical activity…