How long you sleep could be linked to how long you’ll live.A new study, published in the journal Nature, found that people who slept too little or too long showed signs of "older biology."Researchers from Columbia University in New York used global biobank data from about 500,000 people who disclosed self-reported sleep duration in a 24-hour period, including naps.DEEP SLEEP CAN KEEP TWO BIG HEALTH PROBLEMS AT BAY, NEW STUDIES SUGGESTReported sleep times were compared with 23 biological aging clocks, estimating whether various parts of the body looked biologically older or younger than the individual’s actual age.Short and long sleep were both linked with signals of a higher biological age. They were also associated with a higher risk of future diseases and all-cause mortality, the researchers found.In nine of the aging clocks, the researchers found "statistically significant" links between sleep and aging, including in the brain, heart, immune system and skin.Those with the "lowest biological age gap" were women who slept for 6.5 to 7.8 hours and men who slept for 6.4 to 7.7 hours, according to the study.Longer sleep had a stronger link to psychiatric-related outcomes, while short sleep had more physical impacts on cardiovascular, metabolic, musculoskeletal, psychiatric, neurological, pulmonary and gastrointestinal conditions.HERE'S WHY 90% OF AMERICANS DON'T SLEEP THROUGH THE NIGHT, ACCORDING TO EXPERTThe U-shaped results also showed that shorter sleep led to a 50% higher relative risk for all-cause mortality, while longer sleep had about a 40% higher risk.The researchers noted that self-reported sleep poses a limitation to the study. As it was observational in design, it does not prove that sleeping exactly six to eight hours will slow aging.Saema Tahir, MD, a New York-based board-certified sleep medicine physician, reflected on these findings in an interview with Fox News Digital."Sleep is really when the body does its most critical repair work, including cellular restoration, immune regulation, hormonal balance, and even clearing out metabolic waste from the brain through what we call the glymphatic system," said Tahir, who was not involved in the study.AGING PROCESS COULD ACCELERATE DUE TO 'FOREVER CHEMICALS' EXPOSURE, STUDY FINDS"When sleep is consistently too short or too long, those processes get disrupted. Over time, that disruption accumulates at the cellular level."This effect is proven in increased inflammatory markers and cellular changes, which are "hallmarks of accelerated aging," Tahir noted."So, the relationship isn't just correlational; there are real physiological mechanisms connecting poor sleep to the… [TheTopNews] Read More.
1 week ago
