Sleep chart of biological ageing clocks in middle and late life
AI Summary
U-shaped relationship between sleep duration and biological age gaps across organs and omics; optimal sleep is 6.4 to 7.8 hours, varying by organ and sex.
Sleep under six hours or over eight hours associates with increased systemic disease risk and mortality, including depression and diabetes, with genetic and survival evidence.
Long sleep links to late-life depression partly via ageing clocks; short sleep shows a more direct link. Mendelian randomisation does not confirm reverse causality.
Nature. 2026 May 13. doi: 10.1038/s41586-026-10524-5. Online ahead of print.
ABSTRACT
Optimal sleep has a vital role in promoting healthy ageing and enhancing longevity. Here we propose Sleep Chart to assess the relationship between self-reported sleep duration and 23 biological ageing clocks derived from in vivo imaging1, plasma proteomics2 and metabolomics3. First, a systemic, U-shaped pattern emerges between sleep duration and biological age gaps across nine brain and body systems and three omics technologies. The sample-specific lowest biological age gaps are achieved between 6.4 and 7.8 h of sleep duration, varying by organ and sex in the UK Biobank (aged 37-84 years). Furthermore, short (<6 h) and long (>8 h) sleep duration, compared with a normal sleep duration (6-8 h), are associated with increased risk of systemic diseases beyond the brain and all-cause mortality, with evidence from genetic correlations and time-to-incident survival predictions, such as depression and diabetes. Finally, the pathways by which long and short sleep duration are associated with late-life depression differ: ageing clocks may partially mediate the pathway for long sleep duration, while short sleep duration shows a more direct link. Although Mendelian randomization does not provide strong evidence that disease causally affects sleep, it cannot completely exclude such reverse causality. Our findings suggest a cross-organ, multi-omics U-shaped relationship between sleep duration and biological ageing clocks, highlighting the potential of sleep optimization to promote healthy ageing, lower disease risk and extend longevity.
EBioMedicine. 2026 May 13:106266. doi: 10.1016/j.ebiom.2026.106266. Online ahead of print.ABSTRACTBACKGROUND: Sudden cardiac death (SCD) is a major cause of premature and potentially avoidable mortality. Determining...
Alzheimers Dement. 2026 May;22(5):e71458. doi: 10.1002/alz.71458.ABSTRACTINTRODUCTION: Subtle symptoms, like subjective cognitive decline (SCD) and minor neuropsychological deficits (MNPD), can improve the risk stratification in preclinical...
Nature. 2026 May 13. doi: 10.1038/s41586-026-10491-x. Online ahead of print.ABSTRACTThe cerebral cortex shows species-specific variations in size and organization, which probably account for distinct behavioural...
Nature. 2026 May 13. doi: 10.1038/s41586-026-10481-z. Online ahead of print.ABSTRACTThe capacity of hippocampal circuits to transform inputs into downstream outputs is fundamental to navigation and...
Nature. 2026 May 13. doi: 10.1038/s41586-026-10454-2. Online ahead of print.ABSTRACTThe human brain relies on a complex network of connections to function, with white matter acting...
Nature. 2026 May 13. doi: 10.1038/s41586-026-10501-y. Online ahead of print.ABSTRACTElectrical signalling across distinct populations of brain cells underpins cognitive and emotional function. However, approaches that...
