The key to being attractive and looking healthy? A good night’s sleep

Research:  Beauty Sleep — Experimental Study on the Perceived Health and Attractiveness of Sleep Deprived People

If you want to look attractive and healthy, the best thing you can do is get a good night’s sleep, according to research from an article published on the website of the British Medical Journal.

For the first time, say the authors, there is scientific backing for the concept of beauty sleep.

The study, led by John Axelsson from the Karolinska Institutet in Sweden, investigated the relationship between sleep and the perceptions other people have of our attractiveness and health. The authors believe this research is important in today’s 24 hour society, with the number of people suffering from sleep disorders and disturbed sleep on the rise.

Twenty-three participants between the ages of 18 to 31 took part in the study. They were photographed between 2pm and 3pm on two occasions, once after normal sleep and once after being deprived of sleep. Smokers were excluded from the research and no alcohol was allowed for two days prior to the experiment.

The photographs were taken in a well-lit room and the distance to the camera was fixed. During both photography sessions participants wore no make-up, had their hair loose (combed back if they had long hair) and underwent similar cleaning or shaving procedures. They were asked to have a relaxed, neutral facial expression for both photos.

Sixty-five observers, who were blinded to the sleep status of the subjects, rated the photographs for attractiveness, a pleasing or non-pleasing appearance, and whether the individuals looked healthy/unhealthy or tired/not tired.  The observers judged the faces of the sleep-deprived participants as less healthy, less attractive, and more tired.

The researchers concluded that the facial signals of sleep deprived people affect facial appearance, and judgments of attractiveness, pleasing appearance, health and tiredness. These signs are sufficient for others to judge them as less healthy and less attractive, lending the first scientific support to the concept of “beauty sleep”.

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Source: The British Medical Journal: http://www.bmj.com/content/341/bmj.c6614