Scientists have identified a sleep duration linked to slower biological aging, and it is not the widely repeated eight hours, according to a report by MoneyTalksNews.
The study, published in the journal Nature, was carried out by researchers at Columbia University together with an international team called the MULTI Consortium. The researchers built 23 so-called aging clocks covering 17 organ systems, using data from roughly half a million participants aged between 37 and 84.
What the Data Showed
The team compared how long participants said they slept with their biological age as measured by the organ clocks. A consistent pattern emerged across the brain, heart, lungs, immune system and other organs.
Both short sleep of less than six hours and long sleep of more than eight hours were linked to faster aging. The fewest signs of aging appeared in people who slept between 6.4 and 7.8 hours a night.
Why Not to Panic
The report cautioned against treating the 6.4 to 7.8 hour range as a universal magic number, noting that the researchers themselves warned against reading the results too literally.
The study showed an association between sleep duration and the pace of biological aging but did not prove that sleep duration itself causes faster or slower aging, the report said. It noted that sleeping too little or too much could be a sign of poorer health rather than a cause of it, since an illness that speeds up aging in the body can also disrupt sleep.
According to the report, the takeaway is not to fixate on one specific number. What matters is understanding that sleep is tied to the functioning of nearly every system in the body, and that regularly sleeping much shorter or much longer than the average range is worth taking seriously.
How Much Sleep You Actually Need
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommends that adults get at least seven hours of sleep a night. About a third of people fall short of that recommendation, and insufficient sleep is linked to obesity, diabetes, high blood pressure, heart disease and stroke.
The report stressed that older age does not mean needing less sleep. The National Institute on Aging in the United States calls this a myth, saying older adults still need roughly 7 to 9 hours of sleep, even though sleep can become lighter and more broken up with age.
How to Improve Your Sleep
The report said people cannot force themselves to sleep perfectly, but they can create conditions that make good sleep more likely. It listed several steps.
- Stick to a schedule. Go to bed and wake up at the same time every day, including weekends, since consistency works better than a weekend "sleep marathon" that throws off the following week.
- Get light in the morning and dim it in the evening. Morning daylight helps set the body's internal clock, while bright screens late at night can throw that rhythm off.
- Limit afternoon coffee. Caffeine consumed too late in the day can make sleep more broken.
- Do not lie in bed if you cannot fall asleep. If you have been awake for 20 minutes, get up, do something boring under dim light, and return to bed once you feel sleepy.
- Treat major changes as a symptom. Anyone who regularly sleeps well over eight hours, or who cannot fall or stay asleep despite their best efforts, should see a doctor, since unusually long sleep in particular can point to another underlying problem.
The Ukrainian outlet UNIAN has previously reported on a fruit that may improve sleep, noting that tart cherries contain natural melatonin, the hormone produced in the brain that helps regulate sleep, along with tryptophan, magnesium and polyphenols.
