Too much or too little sleep may make your body age faster

A recent analysis of biological aging across the human body's organs suggests that both insufficient and excessive sleep can lead to faster aging, particularly in the brain, heart, lungs, and immune system. This finding, led by Junhao Wen of Columbia University, supports the idea that sleep is crucial for maintaining organ health within a coordinated brain-body network.

Using aging clocks based on machine learning and biological information, Wen and his team found that people who slept fewer than six hours or more than eight hours each day had faster biological aging compared to those who slept between six and a half to seven and a half hours daily. The study linked short sleep duration to mental health issues, obesity, diabetes, hypertension, heart disease, and digestive disorders, while long sleep was associated with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, asthma, and several digestive disorders.

The researchers also found that short sleep may be more directly connected with late-life depression, while long sleep may influence depression through brain and adipose tissue aging clocks. The findings highlight the importance of sleep duration in overall health and suggest that personalized sleep management strategies may be beneficial.