The exact amount of sleep that slows biological aging

🙌 Happy Friday! 

How much sleep creates optimal health? The question causes a lot of confusion and stress, and admittedly, experts and Oura rings alike recommend different things. This week, we’re diving into a headline-worthy study that might actually offer a legitimate answer.

🧠 Other news this week: Melting fat, a possible new drug for genetic Alzheimer’s risk, and sea shanties.

*It’s not 8 hours.

An indulgent long sleep and a restless night can feel like very different experiences, but for long-term health, neither is better.

📚 A large new study published in Nature found that both too little and too much sleep were linked to faster biological aging and a higher risk of death.

From late millennials to Boomers and beyond, researchers analyzed data from nearly half a million people and found that the sleep sweet spot for middle-aged and older adults sits between 6.4 and 7.8 hours per night. ⏰

Consistently getting fewer than 6 hours of sleep appears to have been linked to a higher risk of cardiovascular disease, type 2 diabetes, high blood pressure, obesity, kidney disease, depression, and anxiety, and there was a 50% higher risk of death during the follow-up, reports VICE.

But sleeping more than 8 hours was linked to worse health, as it may hint at an underlying disease or psychiatric conditions. More sleep is not always better.

The authors highlight sleep as a modifiable factor 🔧, meaning better sleep (and potentially less disease risk + longer lifespan) is controllable. 

Consider:

🌙 Read about The Dutch Method, the counterintuitive Nordic sleep habit that may help some people sleep better.

A study in mice suggests that tweaking how magnesium enters mitochondria may help protect against diet-related weight gain and metabolic problems.

Researchers removed a gene called MRS2, which helps move magnesium into mitochondria, and found that mice stayed leaner and metabolically healthier, even on a high-sugar/high-fat diet.

As co-lead author, Travis R. Madaris told Scitechdaily, “[Magnesium] puts the brakes on metabolism.”

The team then created a drug called CPACC, which was designed to mimic that effect. Mice given CPACC gained less weight, stored less fat in the liver, and showed better mitochondrial function.

After a year on an unhealthy diet, mice with reduced MRS2 activity also had less liver fibrosis, fewer tumors, and more active brown fat, which burns energy rather than storing it.

It’s still early, and the drug is not human-ready, and scientists don’t understand the exact mechanisms either. But the findings point to magnesium transport as a possible new target for obesity and metabolic disease.

Researchers may have identified why some people are more protected from Alzheimer’s disease, a finding that could help guide future brain-protective treatments, writes Medical Xpress.

The study looked at apolipoprotein E 2 (APOE2), sometimes called a ‘longevity gene,’ and found that it may help protect high-risk APOE4 neurons from degeneration. APOE4 can be associated with a 12x higher risk of Alzheimer’s disease.

📖 Published in Aging Cell, the study found that APOE2 helps brain cells with DNA repair, less damaging inflammation, and healthier brain cells, reports Medical Xpress. 

There’s no cure for Alzheimer’s disease, so identifying natural protective mechanisms could help researchers develop drugs that mimic this protection and find new ways to slow brain damage.

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Soon may the Wellerman come
To bring us sugar, tea, and rum…
— “Wellerman”

Sea shanties may be more than catchy nostalgia. Research in the Royal Society’s Proceedings of the Royal Society B suggests traditional work songs helped people coordinate movement, strengthen group bonds, and work more efficiently together.

🤝 The idea of synchronicity may support healthy aging.

Group singing has been shown to synchronize heart rate variability, a marker linked with calm and emotional regulation. It also supports health by improving social connections and reducing loneliness, both linked to longevity.

The big picture: Singing together may have helped people stay in sync then, and it may still be good for us now.

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Highlighting your comments on our last reader poll question in Why David Attenborough is a healthy aging model at 100: Which is most likely to improve your mood today?

A walk outside was the runaway winner at 74%. Sometimes, though, we need extra pep in our step. One response: “A beautiful spring day is good for a walk. On a different day, I might pick dancing to a song.”