We all know the impact sleep deprivation can have on our mind and health, but what about our looks? It turns out beauty sleep is a very real thing, as a new study finds that those skimping on sleep may be perceived as less appealing to others - both in terms of appearance and sociability. The experiment, conducted by the Karolinska Institute in Sweden and published in the Royal Society Open Science Journal, involved 25 University students. The subjects had their sleep closely monitored over two 2-night periods, the first period being 2 nights of sound sleep, and the second involving 2 nights on only 4 hours rest. The students were photographed - make-up free - after each 2-night period, after which over 100 strangers were called in to rate each photo of the participants across 4 categories: trustworthiness, attractiveness, health, and sleepiness. Those rating the photos were also asked to assess how much they wanted to socialize with each individual in the photos. While perception of trustworthiness did not fluctuate much between the "sleepy" and "well rested" photo sets, there was a notable dip in the raters perception of attractiveness and health across the "sleepy" photos, and (unsurprisingly) a much higher perception of sleepiness. Further, the raters expressed less interest in socializing with the "sleepy" group. The takeaway? Invest in a better sleep! We just can't say it enough.
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