Sleeping well can lower blood pressure, relax blood vessels and improve blood flow, bringing nutrients—and a healthy color—to the skin. Sleep also slows the aging of the heart and blood vessels.
While sleep isn't a magic wand we can wave that instantly makes us look younger (if only it was), it does play a key part in helping slow down and prevent the signs of ageing. This is fundamentally down to the fact that when we sleep, it helps regenerate body tissues, including our skin, bones and muscles.
Compared to individuals who had zero to one favorable sleep factors, those who had all five were 30% less likely to die for any reason, 21% less likely to die from cardiovascular disease, 19% less likely to die from cancer, and 40% less likely to die of causes other than heart disease or cancer.
Getting enough restorative sleep can certainly help slow down the natural effects of aging and reverse the effects of premature aging. In the same way that getting too little sleep can lead to our hormonal dysregulation, getting enough sleep can restore hormonal balance in our bodies and reinstate healthy aging.
Sleep and Aging
Older adults need about the same amount of sleep as all adults—7 to 9 hours each night.
Key takeaways: Lack of sleep is a top cause of premature aging. Adults older than 50 years need 7 to 9 hours of sleep per night. Getting enough sleep improves concentration and gives your body time to repair and recharge.
Sleep needs can vary from person to person, but in general, experts recommend that healthy adults get an average of 7 to 9 hours per night of shuteye. If you regularly need more than 8 or 9 hours of sleep per night to feel rested, it might be a sign of an sleep or medical problem, Gamaldo says.
Exposure to light is a top cause of premature aging: Sun exposure causes many skin problems. Ultraviolet (UV) light and exposure to sunlight age your skin more quickly than it would age naturally. The result is called photoaging, and it's responsible for 90% of visible changes to your skin.
Indeed, short sleep duration (e.g., sleeping 5 or fewer hours per night) is consistently associated with increased risk for a premature development and progression of age-related conditions (e.g., type 2 diabetes, coronary heart disease).
This is called extrinsic aging. As a result, premature aging can set in long before it was expected. In other words, your biological clock is more advanced than your chronological clock. Controllable factors such as stress, smoking and sun exposure can all play a role in expediting extrinsic aging.
Do short sleepers live longer? A recent study on the genes that promote short sleep found that people who are natural short sleepers reap several benefits of sleeping fewer hours per day — including living longer. Your short sleep duration may also be responsible for: Giving you increased optimism and energy.
All-cause mortality was associated with napping for ≥ 60 min/day (RR: 1.27 [1.11–1.45], P < 0.001, I2 = 0%) compared with not napping. In contrast, napping for < 60 min/day was not associated with cardiovascular disease (P = 0.98) or all-cause mortality (P = 0.08).
A study of the sleep habits of more than one million people over six years seems to debunk the popular idea that eight hours of sleep nightly are required for optimal health. Those who had six or seven hours had a lower death rate than those who regularly slept eight or more hours—or less than four.
While sleep is vital for our health and well-being, excessive sleep can indeed have negative effects, especially in relation to the aging process and longevity. From shortened telomeres to hormonal imbalances and cognitive decline, oversleeping disrupts essential bodily processes and accelerates the aging trajectory.
Collagen Production Increases During Sleep
Research shows that the release of growth hormones during sleep stimulates collagen production. That means supporting collagen production with sufficient rest can help keep your skin resilient.
"Beauty sleep" is real. Your skin uses sleep hours to heal itself from the day's damage. When you drift off, your skin gets the chance to improve. That's why you may wake up looking fresh and rosy.
Stress can temporarily change our biological age, but the process reverses when the stressor is resolved, according to a new study.
After surveying over 16,000 individuals across eight different countries who were all asked at what ages they think men and women are most beautiful, the data found that the overall average age where women are found to be most attractive is 28.
Results showed that as caffeine intake increased, telomere length tended to decrease in U.S. adults, signifying accelerated aging. Conversely, as coffee intake increased, telomere length tended to increase, suggesting decelerated aging.
Chronic oversleeping can also lead to physical discomfort and pain. Research indicates that prolonged sleep can result in generalized body pain, back pain, and stomach pain. These symptoms are likely due to the body's prolonged inactivity and the potential for poor sleep posture during extended sleep periods1.
Vitamin B12 Deficiency: A Rare Cause of Excessive Daytime Sleepiness.
Staying in bed all day every once in a while isn't going to do much harm. Rechtman adds that although a bed can feel like a safe oasis, it's important that you only associate your bed with sleep. Staying in bed too long can lead to sleep difficulties.