It feels it is more just temporary and you get restored to the normal condition with a good night of sleep. Especially skin ageing.
If you see pictures of people from around 100 years ago, they seem to be about the age they were. And they had much healthier lifestyle.
I feel that ageing your skin is something more to each persons genome. The scientific researches are very insipient and inconclusive.
In: Other
Lack of sleep = more garbage in the brain which = not as efficient. The brain controls and regulates all the organs in the body.
Enough sleep = happy and efficient brain which = efficient organs as a whole.
[removed]
A massive chunk of how you visibly age is absolutely [dependent on genetics](https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3583889/). Lifestyle choices do matter, but you drew the card you drew and to some extent, you’re stuck with it.
But sleep is the time when the [body repairs itself](https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6777699/) (and your [brain](https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4651462/) goes through all manner of reorganization and jettisons waste byproducts through the different stages of sleep). So sleep deprivation means that you’re not getting the optimum regenerative time that you could be.
As far as photos from 100 years ago, it’s worth mentioning that cameras from that time aren’t anywhere close to what we’ve got today in terms of their ability to capture clear images. So those photos are essentially “filtered” because of the limitations of early technology – you won’t see fine details like wrinkles, enlarged pores, and other visual indicators that we associate with aging. Then add in the degradation of the actual photo itself (these were all printed on some kind of paper, which doesn’t age well).
Alright, let’s break this down:
Sleep deprivation and aging is kind of like running your car without ever changing the oil. Sure, it’ll keep going for a while, but you’re not doing it any favors in the long run.
Short term? Yeah, a good night’s sleep can work wonders. It’s like hitting the reset button on your PlayStation after it’s been running hot for days.
But chronically? That’s where it gets tricky. Your body does a lot of maintenance work while you’re sleeping – fixing DNA, clearing out cellular junk, that sort of thing. Skip sleep regularly, and you’re essentially telling your repair crew to take a permanent vacation.
Now, about those 100-year-old photos – careful with that “much healthier lifestyle” assumption. Sure, they weren’t binge-watching Netflix till 3 AM, but they also had stuff like, you know, cholera. And child labor. Not exactly a spa day.
You’re onto something with the genetic factor though. Some people are just dealt a better hand in the “looking young” department. It’s like how some people can smoke for 50 years and live to 100, while others look at a cigarette and get emphysema.
The science is still evolving, sure. But there’s enough evidence to suggest that chronic sleep deprivation does you no favors in the aging department.
Bottom line: Get your sleep when you can, but don’t stress if you miss a night here and there. Your body’s more resilient than you think, but it’s not magic. Treat it well, and it’ll return the favor.
Preface. I am just a normal monkey, not a doctor monkey or anything like that.
I’m fairly certain that sleep deprivation causes all sorts of mischief to your body as well as aging. A couple of other things also cause premature ageing.
Smoking, don’t do it kids.
Dehydration, water is your friend (not too much though, you’ll just widdle all the time).
UV damage, wear sunscreen (Baz Luhrmann, but true though)!
I’m paraphrasing from “why we sleep” by Matthew Walker who goes into the science of sleep and its effects, but short answer YES IT DOES.
Basically everything your body does it does worse without enough sleep. Your body, brain, skin, hormones which regulate appetite, all worse without sleep.
That book and personal anecdotal experience from a job where sustained sleep deprivation was common have convinced me that getting enough sleep is the single most important thing you can do.
Highly recommend the book. There is a good audio book version too.
Latest Answers