The health cost of irregular sleep timing: age differences in social jet lag and health outcomes among middle-aged and older adults

Oct 9, 2025The journals of gerontology. Series A, Biological sciences and medical sciences

Health impacts of irregular sleep schedules and social jet lag in middle-aged and older adults

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Abstract

Higher levels of social jet lag are associated with increased depressive symptoms, especially in adults over age 61.24.

Social jet lag is defined as the difference in sleep timing between weekdays and weekends.
Unadjusted analyses showed a link between social jet lag and higher body mass index.
There was no observed association between social jet lag and cognitive functioning.
After adjusting for other factors, the positive association between social jet lag and depressive symptoms persisted.
The relationship between social jet lag and depressive symptoms was significant only in participants older than 61.24 years.

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BACKGROUND: Social jet lag, a misalignment between circadian rhythms and societal schedules, has been reported to pose significant health risks. However, evidence of social jet lag's implications on health outcomes among middle-aged and older adults, and the moderating role of age on these associations is limited. We investigated the cross-sectional associations of social jet lag with key health outcomes and considered the moderating role of age.

METHODS: This study included 661 participants aged 50-83 drawn from the 2018 wave of the U.S.-based Health and Retirement Study. We computed multiple linear regressions to estimate the associations between social jet lag-calculated from self-reported sleep timing as the difference between weekday and weekend sleep midpoints-and depressive symptoms, cognitive functioning, and body mass index.

RESULTS: Unadjusted regressions indicated that higher levels of social jet lag were associated with higher depressive symptoms and higher body mass index. No association was found between social jet lag and cognitive functioning. In adjusted regressions, higher levels of social jet lag remained positively associated with higher depressive symptoms, and this association was moderated by age. Specifically, higher levels of social jet lag were linked to higher depressive symptoms only among adults over age 61.24, whereas no such association was observed in participants aged 50-61.24.

CONCLUSION: The findings suggest that greater social jet lag is associated with higher depressive symptoms, particularly among older adults. Future research should explore causal links between social jet lag and health outcomes to inform interventions aimed at improving mental health in this population.

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The health cost of irregular sleep timing: age differences in social jet lag and health outcomes among middle-aged and older adults

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