Beauty Sleep is Real

Beaty Sleep is Real

“Beauty sleep” sounds like something your grandma would say, but it turns out she was onto something. There’s an actual scientific study from the Karolinska Institute in Sweden showing that she's right.

In this study, researchers took 23 adults and photographed them twice. The first photo was after a normal 8 hours of sleep, and the second was after being awake for over 31 hours following a bad night's sleep.

They then handed the photos to 65 people who had no idea which photos were from the well-rested version and which were the sleep deprived ones. These observers rated each face for attractiveness, how healthy the person looked, and how tired they appeared.

The results were pretty clear:

• The sleep-deprived faces were rated less attractive

• They looked less healthy

• And they were rated as more tired, even when the facial differences were subtle

What’s interesting is that the researchers suggested we’re naturally wired to pick up on tiredness in other people’s faces. So even if you think you’re functioning fine, your face might be telling a different story.

From a fitness perspective, this is massive. If you’re putting in the work at the gym, focusing on your nutrition, and trying to present a healthier version of yourself, sleep is part of the transformation. It affects recovery, energy, mood, and, as this study shows, how you actually look.

So yeah, beauty sleep is real!