Columbia University study identifies optimal sleep duration for organ health

A large-scale study published in the journal Nature by researchers at Columbia University suggests that sleep duration follows a ‘U-shaped curve’ regarding human aging. By analyzing data from nearly 500,000 individuals in the UK Biobank, the team utilized machine learning to establish 23 ‘aging clocks’ covering 17 to 23 organ systems.

The findings indicate that individuals sleeping between 6.4 and 7.8 hours per night exhibit the lowest levels of biological aging. Conversely, both insufficient and excessive sleep are linked to accelerated aging across various organs, including the brain, heart, lungs, and immune system.

Sleeping fewer than 6 hours is associated with increased risks of depression, anxiety, obesity, type 2 diabetes, hypertension, and ischemic heart disease. On the other hand, sleeping more than 8 hours is linked to chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, asthma, gastritis, and gastroesophageal reflux disease. Junhao Wen, an assistant professor at Columbia University, noted that while both extremes lead to similar health outcomes like late-life depression, they may do so through different biological pathways.