When we sleep badly, we usually think about the next day.
How to get up, concentrate and make it to evening without a third coffee or a decision we may later regret. We treat sleep as a way to recover the strength we need tomorrow.
Growing research suggests that its importance may reach much further. A recent UCLA Health study adds an interesting perspective: effective insomnia therapy did more than help participants sleep. It was also associated with a slower measured pace of biological ageing.
This is not a recipe for longevity. It is another reason to stop treating insomnia as an inconvenient part of life that must simply be accepted.
Insomnia and biological ageing
Chronological age comes from our date of birth. Biological age attempts to describe the condition of the body and the pace of age-related change.
Two people of the same chronological age may differ biologically. Genes, lifestyle, movement, nutrition, stress, environment and sleep can all play a part.
Researchers use tools including epigenetic clocks, which analyse patterns such as DNA methylation. They do not tell us exactly how many years remain, but they can help estimate whether certain biological processes appear to be moving faster or slower.
What did the researchers find?
The study, published in The Lancet Healthy Longevity, analysed 92 older adults with insomnia. Participants had been randomly assigned to cognitive behavioural therapy for insomnia, CBT-I, or sleep education therapy.
CBT-I is a structured treatment addressing thoughts, habits and behaviours that can maintain sleep difficulties. Remission of insomnia was more common among those receiving CBT-I. Researchers also observed a slower pace of biological ageing, measured with DunedinPACE, compared with the sleep education group.
This is an important observation, but it comes from a secondary analysis of one randomised trial and needs replication in larger and more diverse populations.
Study in The Lancet Healthy Longevity ↗
Can insomnia therapy really slow ageing?
The results are promising, but they do not mean we have found a simple way to stop time. The sample was small and consisted of older adults, while biological ageing was assessed through selected epigenetic measures.
We do not yet know whether the same result would appear in younger people or translate into a longer life. We can say something important, however: sleep may be a modifiable part of healthy ageing.
We cannot change our date of birth. We can decide whether to ignore long-term sleep difficulties or seek their cause and effective support.
Insomnia is more than a few poor nights
Anyone can have a night when sleep is difficult. Stress, travel, emotion or late caffeine can move sleep out of reach.
Chronic insomnia involves recurring difficulty falling asleep, staying asleep or waking too early, together with significant distress or impairment during the day. Over time, night itself can create tension. Sleep becomes a task, and the harder we try to force it, the further away it may feel.
What does cognitive behavioural therapy for insomnia involve?
CBT-I is more than a list of sleep hygiene rules. It is a structured process that may include:
- keeping a sleep diary,
- organising sleep and wake times,
- reconnecting the bed primarily with sleep,
- adjusting time spent awake in bed,
- working with worry and tension around the night,
- learning ways to calm the body,
- changing beliefs that increase pressure around sleep.
Treatment should be adapted to the individual and delivered by an appropriately trained professional. The American College of Physicians recommends CBT-I as the first-line treatment for chronic insomnia in adults.
American College of Physicians guidance ↗
Why is knowing about sleep not always enough?
Most of us know it helps to limit phone use and late caffeine and create a calm bedroom. Knowledge does not always lead to change.
Sleep education explains what is worth doing. Therapy helps reveal why previous approaches have not worked and how to build a different relationship with sleep step by step.
Good sleep is not a reward for a productive day
Rest has long been treated like a reward: first finish everything, then you are allowed to stop. The task list, however, never truly ends.
Today I see it differently. Sleep is neither a luxury nor a break from real life. It is not there only so we can do more tomorrow.
It is a way of caring for our future self: our memory, energy, health, resilience and ability to enjoy what is still ahead.
When is it time to seek support?
Speak with a doctor or sleep specialist when difficulty falling or staying asleep persists and affects daily life.
Loud snoring, pauses in breathing, strong daytime sleepiness, restless legs, pain or a sudden change in sleep pattern deserve particular attention. Not every sleep difficulty is insomnia, and similar symptoms can have different causes.
Where does the app fit?
The app is not insomnia therapy and does not replace consultation with a qualified professional. For me, it is a tool that supports relaxation, recovery and the transition from activity to rest.
Depending on what I need, I choose a sleep, recovery or calming programme. Sleep programmes can be played through a speaker. For other sessions, I use headphones in a quiet place.
I do not treat the app as a magic solution. It is one part of caring for my state, alongside regular sleep, movement, fewer stimuli and professional support when needed.
Sleep is part of the future we build today
I want to create, travel and participate fully in life. I simply do not want years of activity to come at the body’s expense.
The study offers no promise of eternal youth. It suggests something more practical: effective insomnia treatment may have benefits beyond a better morning and may be associated with the pace of certain biological processes.
Good sleep is not wasted time. It is an investment in the time still ahead.