A recent study highlights that the amount of sleep is important for healthy aging, suggesting an optimal duration of between 6.4 and 7.8 hours per night. Published in the journal Nature, the research indicates that getting less than six hours of sleep can accelerate biological aging across various organs, including the brain, lungs, heart, and immune system. Conversely, sleeping more than eight hours is also linked to accelerated aging in nearly all body organs.
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The study further associates both insufficient and excessive sleep with numerous health issues such as obesity, type 2 diabetes, hypertension, coronary artery disease, and gastritis, as well as mental health disorders like depression and anxiety. Junhao Wen, the lead researcher and an assistant professor of radiology at Columbia University Vagelos College of Physicians and Surgeons, emphasized the importance of sleep in maintaining overall organ health through a coordinated brain-body network.
Wen and his team employed advanced statistical tools known as "aging clocks" to determine the relationship between sleep duration and aging. These aging clocks can be organ-specific, providing insights into how different organs may age at varying rates.
While the research draws from data predominantly sourced from white Europeans in the U.K. Biobank, Wen noted that more studies are necessary to include diverse populations.
The study also uncovered a slight disparity in sleep needs between genders: women may require about 10 to 20 more minutes of sleep each night than men, potentially related to hormonal fluctuations and emotional demands. Dr. Chris Winter, a neurologist, pointed out that the new findings challenge the conventional belief that eight hours is optimal for everyone, suggesting that a consistent seven hours might be more realistic for many individuals. Therefore, if achieving eight hours proves difficult, it may be more beneficial to aim for around seven hours of sleep for optimal health.