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If you want to feel younger, science recommends focusing on specific area of your daily routine
Have you ever woken up from nights sleep feeling ten years older than you actually are? According to a new study by researchers in Sweden, theres a specific reason for this.
While suffering from stress is one cause of making people feel older, researchers at Stockholm University elected to study how the quality of sleep affects how old a person feels, especially as previous papers have shown that feeling younger than ones age is associated with longer and healthier lives.
Study explores the effects of sleep quality on perceived age
Conducted by researchers in the Department of Psychology at Stockholm University, the scientific study tested over 600 participants to examine whether the quality of their sleep correlated with whether they would feel older or younger than their actual age.
Given that sleep is essential for brain function and overall well-being, we decided to test whether sleep holds any secrets to preserving a youthful sense of age, said Leonie Balter, a co-author of the study.
As part of the experiment, two individual studies were conducted, one testing a sample of 429 adults aged 18 to 70 living in the UK, and the second involved 186 participants aged 18 to 46 in Sweden.
In the first study, researchers found that participants with insufficient sleep over the past month felt on average 0.23 years older than their actual age.
Meanwhile, in the second study, researchers tested to see if insufficient sleep was indeed the cause of feeling older. To compare results, participants would first restrict their sleep over two nights, only being allowed to spend four hours in bed each night, and then would be able to sleep sufficiently for two nights, being allowed to spend nine hours in bed each night.
The study found that participants felt on average 4.4 years older after sleep restriction than after enjoying sufficient sleep.
Co-author recommends safeguarding sleep
The impacts of the experiment on a persons perceived age were stark as a person who felt extremely alert after a good nights sleep would feel four years younger than their actual age while those suffering from extreme sleepiness after insufficient sleep felt six years older.
Speaking about the studys findings, Leonie Balter said: This means that going from feeling alert to sleepy added a striking ten years to how old one felt.
Safeguarding our sleep is crucial for maintaining a youthful feeling, she continued. This, in turn, may promote a more active lifestyle and encourage behaviors that promote health, as both feeling young and alert are important for our motivation to be active.
So, if youre starting to feel like youre approaching your 40s even if youre still only in your 20s, you may want to ensure that youre getting enough sleep.
