"Night Owls Beware: Just Two Nights of Restless Sleep Can Make You Feel Decades Older, Warns Study"

A new study suggests that just two consecutive nights of poor sleep can make a person feel years older than they really are, with participants reporting feeling three months older for every night of poor sleep. Morning people were particularly affected by limited sleep, but even evening people felt older than their true age after plenty of sleep. Feeling older coincided with more sleepiness, and previous research has linked higher subjective age to depression. The study's lead author suggests that subjective age is "malleable," and if people can be made to feel younger, they may experience associated benefits such as being more willing to take on new experiences and being socially and physically active.