Mirror, mirror, on the wall, who is the oldest man in the land? Perhaps the sleepy one!

Abstract

Abstract This study aimed to investigate the impact of sleep deprivation on the perceived age appearance of individuals, with a particular focus on subjective sleepiness. The study involved 380 anonymous observers who participated in an online survey. The observers were shown photographs of a Caucasian man, aged 48.2 years, and were asked to estimate his age. The results demonstrated that after 42.6 hours of continuous wakefulness, his estimated age was 2.9 years older than his actual age (p<0.001). Additionally, the study revealed that the sleepier the observers felt during the evaluation, the older they perceived the man to be (p<0.05). These findings suggest that sleep loss may impact how old someone is perceived and that sleepiness may impact how observers estimate others’ age. However, it is important to replicate these findings in diverse populations, including women, individuals from different ethnic backgrounds, and individuals of various age groups who experience sleep loss.