Are you feeling old? Sleep helps you “rejuvenate”, says study

A bad night’s sleep should leave you drowsy, unwell and probably grumpy. A whole week of poor sleep… you’ll probably feel 10 years older than you really are. A study found this to be scientifically true and sleep deprivation actually alters our perception of our age. The solution is simple: sleeping has the opposite effect, and makes us feel younger.

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How sleep helps with “age”

The study found that the perception of one’s own age is not just subjective, but also has to do with how the body functions.

For example, as one of the researchers explains, sleep is essential for brain function and general well-being. Not preserving this functioning changes the feeling of youth, because it changes the body’s disposition.

See how the study was done:

• The research recruited 429 people aged between 18 and 70;
• They were asked about their age, how many days in the last month they hadn’t gotten enough sleep and whether they were sleepy;
• The conclusion was that, for every night of poor sleep, participants felt on average 0.23 years older.

Is sleep really the villain?

This was a question asked by the researchers. After all, there could be another factor that was making participants feel older.

This was not the case:

• The study looked at 186 participants aged 18 to 46;
• They had to sleep poorly for two days, just four hours a night. Then two days of sleeping well, nine hours a night;
• The researchers asked them again about their perceptions of age. According to the Medical Xpressafter sleep deprivation, individuals reported feeling on average 4.4 years older than when they slept for nine hours;
• This has to do with the effects that sleep has on the body. The feeling of extreme alertness when sleeping well made participants feel four years younger. Extreme drowsiness made them feel six years older.

Conclusion

According to Leonie Balter, researcher at the Department of Psychology at Stockholm University, responsible for the research, ensuring good quality sleep is essential to maintaining youthfulness and the functioning of the body.

Protecting our sleep is crucial to maintaining a youthful feeling. This, in turn, can promote a more active lifestyle and encourage health-promoting behaviors, as feeling young and alert is important for our motivation.

Leonie Balter