Cognitive behavioral therapy for insomnia may slow biological aging in older adults

Cognitive behavioral therapy for insomnia can slow down biological aging in older people. This is the conclusion reached by scientists at the University of California, Los Angeles. The study results were published in The Lancet Healthy Longevity.

The study involved people over 60 years of age with insomnia. As part of a larger experiment, 291 people were randomly assigned to either cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) or sleep training. The biological aging analysis included data from approximately 100 participants.

CBT does not involve the use of sleeping pills. During several sessions, a specialist helps a person change habits, behavior and attitudes that interfere with falling asleep and maintaining normal sleep. The control group received only general advice on sleep hygiene.

Before the study began and over the next two years, the scientists took blood samples and assessed the rate of biological aging by changes in DNA. One of the indicators was the DunedinPACE epigenetic “timer”, which allows assessing the rate of aging of the body.

In people who received only advice on healthy sleep, over time, indicators indicated an acceleration of biological aging. Participants who received CBT showed a slower rate of aging according to DunedinPACE. A previous analysis of the same participants showed that people who got rid of insomnia after therapy had a greater decrease in the level of p16INK4a, a marker of cellular aging.

Scientists suggest that improving sleep may reduce chronic inflammation and stress on the body's stress systems, thereby slowing cell damage.