Sleep is a key element of mental and physical health, and lack of sleep makes us feel tired, lethargic and lacking in energy.
Short sleep and insomnia can wreak havoc on the body and accelerate ageing.
Scientists have shown that every sleepless night not only impairs our well-being, but also increases our subjective age.
What does this mean for us and can this process be reversed?
Scientists have conducted studies that have shown how much sleep deprivation affects the ageing process.
Sleep is a key element of mental and physical health, and lack of sleep makes us feel tired, lethargic and lacking in energy.
Scientists at Stockholm University have conducted research that shows that a lack of sleep can accelerate the body’s ageing process by several years.
Sleep accelerates the ageing process
In the first study, the scientists examined 429 people between the ages of 18 and 70 and asked them about their subjective age and sleeping habits.
The research results may come as a surprise, as it turned out that every sleepless night increased the subjective age by an average of 0.23 years.
Another study involved 186 people aged between 18 and 46 who slept only four hours for two nights and nine hours the following two nights.
The reduction in sleep duration increased their subjective age by up to 4.4 years.
Research has also shown that people with the early riser sleep chronotype have a lower subjective age than those who are most active in the evening and go to bed very late.
However, sleep disorders are more difficult to manage.
How lack of sleep affects you
Insufficient sleep makes us feel older. Not only can lack of sleep weaken immunity, it can also worsen mental health, weaken cognitive function and cause memory problems.
Research has shown that changing sleep habits and improving sleep hygiene can significantly improve well-being and prevent premature ageing.
In addition, it is also worth paying attention to physical activity, leading a healthy lifestyle and exercising regularly.
Exercise, especially in the fresh air, supplies the body with oxygen, stimulates the circulatory system and ensures that more nutrients reach the individual organs.
An oxygen-enriched body regenerates more easily so that we fall asleep and rest more quickly after a long walk.
How can you speed up sleep?
People who suffer from insomnia and sleep disorders should change their evening habits.
It is good to take a walk every day before going to bed (if possible) and to air the bedroom thoroughly.
Experts also recommend limiting the use of electronic devices, not watching stimulating movies or series and switching off social media.
The emission of blue light can disrupt melanin production and exacerbate insomnia problems.
