Is Beauty Sleep A Myth?

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• Posted November 13, 2012 at 4:48 pm
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Anyone who has rolled out of bed in the early hours, staggered into the bathroom, and caught a glimpse of themselves in the mirror might be predisposed to assume that the ancient advice connecting sleep and looking good is not entirely on the up and up.

However, there is plenty of evidence to suggest that getting a decent amount of shut-eye every night is an essential part of any skincare and health strategy.

To be clear, we’re not talking about rigidly insisting on forty winks in the late afternoon to replenish and revitalize before partying until 4 and getting up at 7 to go to work.

The key is sufficient and consistent sleep, and the avoidance of both sleep deprivation and building up a sleep deficit.

Evidence shows that sleep-deprived people are judged as less attractive by their colleagues. In a Swedish study that took photos of people after a good night’s sleep and after they had been deprived of sleep for 30 hours, the former photos were considered more attractive by observers.

So far, so obvious. No one looks good after a 30-hour stretch of sleeplessness. This writer can barely function after 12 hours without nodding off, so looking sparkling and fresh after 30 is definitely out of the question. However, sleep deprivation doesn’t have to occur all in one go. Cutting your ideal sleep time by a couple of hours a day over the course of a few days will have the same effect as a 30-hour deprivation.

The body needs sleep to replenish itself and carry out essential maintenance work. If you deny it that, you’ll start to look rough around the edges in no time at all.

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