A recent study suggests that getting sufficient sleep – around seven to nine hours per night – may contribute to feeling younger upon waking up, potentially impacting both mental and physical health.
Clinical neuroscientists Leonie Balter and John Axelsson from Sweden’s Karolinska Institute conducted research indicating that feeling youthful is closely associated with better sleep quality, leading to improved overall well-being and longevity.
Their study, involving 429 adults aged 18 to 70, revealed that individuals who reported consistent sleep over the past month felt an average of 5.8 years younger than their actual age. Conversely, each night of inadequate sleep added approximately 0.23 years to participants’ perceived age.
In a more focused experiment with 186 adults up to age 46, participants experienced a notable difference in their perception of age after just two nights of restricted sleep (four hours) compared to two nights of sufficient sleep (nine hours). On average, restricted sleep made participants feel 4.4 years older, while feelings of alertness were associated with feeling younger.
Interestingly, individuals who identified as “morning people” felt relatively younger after adequate sleep but were more affected by poor sleep, perceiving themselves as older. This suggests a potential link between sleep patterns and subjective age perception.
The authors emphasize the importance of further research to understand the underlying mechanisms connecting sleep and perceived age. In the meantime, they advocate for prioritizing quality sleep as a fundamental factor in maintaining a youthful outlook on life.
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