Feeling up to 3 months to 10 years older
"Drowsiness plays an important role in forming age perception"
A study has found that sleep deprivation acts similarly to aging.
On the 27th (local time), the British media outlet The Sun introduced research conducted by Professor Leoni Walter's team at the Karolinska Institute in Stockholm, Sweden. Professor Walter's team announced an analysis result stating, "Sleep deprivation can make you feel older."
The research team investigated perceived age based on sleep duration among 429 participants. After a month of observation, participants who had a good night's sleep every night tended to perceive themselves as an average of 5.8 years younger.
On the other hand, those who experienced prolonged periods of sleeplessness over the month felt as if they were 3 months older. Some evaluations indicated feeling more than 10 years older. Participants who did not sleep consistently felt older than their actual age.
Dr. Walter, who led the study, explained, "This research shows that sleep habits and drowsiness play an important role in shaping our sense of age," adding, "If fatigue is not relieved, you can feel as if you are 10 years older." He further noted, "The difference between age and emotions will become more pronounced after the 30s," suggesting that sleep deprivation may damage DNA and accelerate biological aging.
The risks of sleep deprivation do not end there. Earlier this month, a research team at Uppsala University in Sweden announced findings that the shorter the sleep duration, the higher the risk of developing type 2 diabetes.
The team tracked over 247,000 adults participating in the UK Biobank study for an average of 12.5 years. The group sleeping an average of 5 hours had a 16% higher risk of being diagnosed with type 2 diabetes compared to the normal sleep group, and those sleeping 3 to 4 hours had a 41% higher risk. Even healthy eating habits could not offset the diabetes risk caused by sleep deprivation.
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