A randomised controlled trial led by UCLA Health has found that cognitive behavioural therapy for insomnia (CBT-I) slowed a marker of biological ageing more than a standard sleep education course, in a study of nearly 100 older adults with clinical insomnia. Published in The Lancet Healthy Longevity on 8 September 2026, the single-site trial in Los Angeles randomised participants to eight weeks of either CBT-I, a structured programme that targets the thoughts and habits that keep insomnia going, or sleep education therapy (SET), a general information course with no behavioural component. Researchers took blood samples before treatment and again at follow-up visits over the following two years, then used three separate epigenetic clocks, DunedinPACE, GrimAge and PC-PhenoAge, to estimate each participant's pace of biological ageing from changes in their DNA. Participants who received CBT-I were nearly three times more likely to see their insomnia fully resolve than those in the sleep education group, and the treatment group also showed a significantly slower pace of ageing on the DunedinPACE measure.
What the epigenetic clocks showed
The DunedinPACE clock showed a statistically significant slowdown in the CBT-I group; the other two clocks, GrimAge and PC-PhenoAge, did not reach statistical significance in this trial, according to UCLA Health's summary of the findings. Dr Judith Carroll, associate professor of psychiatry at UCLA Health and the study's lead researcher, said insomnia in older adults "is often treated as a quality-of-life issue, but these findings suggest it may be a modifiable risk factor for how the body ages." The authors noted the trial was conducted at a single site with limited diversity in age, ethnicity and race, and said further research is needed to know whether the effect differs by sex or compares with other treatments such as medication or Tai Chi.
What this means for your sleep routine
This trial did not test a supplement, and its authors make no claims about any product. What it shows is that a structured, drug-free treatment for insomnia was measurable enough to show up on an epigenetic clock, which is one more reason not to treat poor sleep as something to put up with. No vitamin or mineral holds a UK health claim for slowing biological ageing, and nothing in this study suggests a supplement could reproduce what CBT-I did here. For readers who already look at their sleep and recovery supplements as part of a wider routine, the trial evidence in this study sits with a therapist-delivered programme, not with anything on a shelf.
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This article reports published news and research and is for information only. Food supplements are not a substitute for a varied diet or medical care, and no product mentioned is intended to diagnose, treat, cure or prevent any disease. Speak to your GP or pharmacist before changing what you take, especially if you are pregnant, breastfeeding, or taking prescribed medicines.