You probably already know that good sleep is key to healthy ageing. Researchers have previously linked 6.4 to 7.8 hours’ sleep a night to increased longevity and a lower risk of disease.
And new research has suggested that the relationship could go both ways: feeling older might affect our shut-eye, too, which may have knock-on effects on our health.
A paper published in Sleep said that “how old you feel is an important predictor of sleep and health across the lifespan”.
What did the study find?
The research, which involved 3,177 adults with an average age of almost 43, completed surveys which asked them about their subjective age (how old they felt) and chronological age (how old they really were).
They were also asked about their sleep quality, including insomnia severity, sleep health, sleep regularity, and sleep-related impairments, as well as whether they had depression or anxiety. They provided self-reported physical health information, too.
Researchers calculated the “age discrepancy” of individuals, or the gap between their real age and how old they felt, as well.
“Adults who felt older than their actual age consistently reported poorer sleep outcomes, including more insomnia symptoms, less regular sleep, and greater daytime impairment,” the study’s principal investigator, sleep scientist Dr Joseph M Dzierzewski, said.
“These associations remained significant even after accounting for chronological age, depression and anxiety”.
The study also found that people who had worse sleep as a possible result of a greater age discrepancy experienced negative “downstream effects on physical health”.
How we view our age might affect our well-being
“These findings suggest how people perceive their own ageing may have important implications for sleep and overall well-being,” Dr Dzierzewski said.
“Understanding subjective age could help inform future approaches to support healthier sleep and quality of life across the lifespan.”
A separate study found that ageing seems less likely to lead to various forms of decline if older people don’t think it will.
However, both of those links were observational, meaning they only proved a link and not a cause. It could be that people in better health or who sleep better feel younger, for instance.