From inc.com
Constantly tired? A simple factor may be contributing to your inability to find high-quality sleep. Here’s what to know
Could feeling wiser than your years be worsening your days? Possibly.
A new study published in Sleep found a link between subjective age (the age you feel) and how well you sleep. People with a higher subjective age reported more symptoms of insomnia and feeling more tired throughout the day. The results will be presented at the Sleep 2026 annual meeting in mid-June.
The study was conducted by the VA Boston Healthcare System, Virginia Commonwealth University, and the National Sleep Foundation.
The scientists ultimately found that age discrepancy can act as a predictor in overall health and longevity. In the study, age discrepancy is defined as the mismatch between a person’s subjective age, how old a person feels, and their actual, chronological age. Positive values indicated feeling older while negative values indicated feeling younger. The researchers noted that adults who felt older had more symptoms of insomnia, more sleep-related impairments, and lower overall sleep health and regularity.
“These findings suggest how people perceive their own aging may have important implications for sleep and overall well-being,” said Joseph M. Dzierzewski, the principal investigator of the study. “Understanding subjective age could help inform future approaches to support healthier sleep and quality of life across the lifespan.”
To come to this conclusion, the researchers collected survey responses from 3,177 adults with a mean age of 42.8. Participants were asked questions to assess their subjective age, insomnia, overall sleep health, and sleep-related impairment. The subjects were evaluated on their mental health and asked to self-report any physical health symptoms that may affect their sleep.
The scientists used correlational and regression analyses to look at the associations between age discrepancy and sleep. A parallel mediation, a test to see if any predictors affected the outcome through two or more variables simultaneously, was then used to explore the indirect effects sleep had on physical health.
The scientists found that those who reported feeling older than their actual age had statistically significant poorer sleep and sleep-related impairments. Additionally, they found that those who had higher age discrepancies also had higher rates of insomnia and worse subjective physical health.
Key takeaways from the research
Dzierzewski told Inc. that this doesn’t have to start in a doctor’s office; it can begin with a simple internal check. “The question is almost like, how are you feeling? Do you feel older? Do you feel younger? Do you feel right on?”
The good news, he said, is that nothing about this picture is fixed. “Your subjective age is certainly changeable, your sleep is changeable. Staying physically active, eating a good healthy diet, and challenging some of those negative beliefs we have about aging.”
He added that consistently feeling older than your age is “not a warning sign, but something you should pay attention to. It’s a sign that your sleep or your health maybe needs more support than you’re giving it.”
And while the study focused on sleep, Dzierzewski thinks the implications can stretch to other areas of your life. Embracing aging more realistically, not chasing youth, and aligning expectations with where you actually are could, he said, bring everything a little more into balance: “All of these things are changeable.”
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