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Study Links Sleep Duration to Biological Aging Markers
Researchers analyzed data from 500,000 adults and identified a sleep range associated with slower biological aging. The findings link both short and long sleep to higher disease risks and earlier mortality.
May 17, 10:22 AM·1m read1 source
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A study published in Nature examined how nightly sleep duration relates to biological aging across multiple organs. Researchers analyzed 23 aging clocks using data from 500,000 participants aged 37 to 84 who reported their sleep habits. 8 hours of sleep per night aligned with slower aging in nine of the clocks.
Sleeping less than six hours or more than eight hours correlated with faster biological aging and elevated disease risk.
Short sleep was associated with cardiovascular disease, high blood pressure, type 2 diabetes, obesity, kidney disease, osteoarthritis, depression, anxiety, and substance use disorders. Long sleep more frequently correlated with major depressive disorder, schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, and ADHD.
Both patterns carried higher overall mortality risk. Short sleepers showed a 50 percent higher risk of death from any cause, while long sleepers showed a 40 percent higher risk. The study relied on self-reported sleep data rather than clinical measurements.
Researchers noted that the findings illustrate how sleep duration relates to cellular and tissue aging throughout the body.
