A team of researchers from the Karolinska Institute in Sweden claims that insufficient and restless sleep can often make us feel ten years older.
To determine how sleep affects our perception of age, the scientists conducted two studies.
How the Studies Were Conducted
In the first study, the researchers asked 429 participants to record the age they felt for 30 days. The volunteers also had to note how many nights they experienced sleep deprivation, as reported by the Daily Mail.
The analysis revealed that for each additional day of sleep deprivation, participants felt their subjective age increase by 0.23 years.
In the second study, a group of 182 individuals underwent a sleep restriction experiment. For two nights, they were allowed to stay in bed for only four hours, while participants in the second group could sleep nine hours each night. The experiment showed that volunteers in the first group felt 4.44 years older than those who got enough sleep.
Conclusions from the Studies
The researchers noted that our sleep habits can play a significant role in how old we feel.
In their report, the researchers wrote: “Many people feel younger than their chronological age. However, this phenomenon is less common among younger individuals. Once we reach our 30s and beyond, the discrepancy between how old we are and how old we feel becomes more pronounced.”
“It turns out that when a person feels younger than their actual age, it is associated with a longer life, better mental and physical health, and more positive psychological traits,” the team observed.
Our perception of age is surprisingly variable, according to the scientists. They stated that the findings from the study “open up new possibilities for cultivating a sense of youthfulness.” Taking care of quality sleep is one of the key factors that contribute to feeling youthful.
The results of the studies were published in the journal Proceedings of the Royal Society B.