Spieglein, Spieglein an der Wand, wer ist der älteste Mann im Land? Vielleicht der übermüdete!

Abstract

AbstractThis study aimed to investigate the impact of acute sleep deprivation on the perceived age appearance of individuals, with a particular focus on subjective sleepiness. The study involved 380 anonymous raters who participated in an online survey. The raters 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 h 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 a rater felt during the survey, the older they perceived the man to be (p < 0.05). These findings suggest that sleep loss may impact upon how old someone is perceived to be, and that sleepiness may affect how raters estimate the age of others. 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.