doodlebeauty00WHAT THE STUDIES FOUND
Other people can see a missed night.
In lab studies at the Karolinska Institutet in Stockholm, strangers rated photos of the same faces after normal sleep and after a night without it. The tired faces looked less healthy, less attractive and much more tired.
See what changes01Principles
02THE SHORT ANSWER
Untrained observers picked up the signs.
The biggest change was simply looking tired.
THE 2010 STUDY
23 adults were photographed after eight hours' sleep and after 31 hours awake. 65 observers rated the photos without knowing which was which.
See the numbersTHE TELL-TALE SIGNS
A follow-up study found sleep-deprived faces had more hanging eyelids, redder and more swollen eyes, darker circles, paler skin and droopier mouth corners.
Check a featureTHE HABIT
The NHS says most adults need 7 to 9 hours a night and suggests going to bed and getting up at the same times every day.
Sleep tips03A QUICK FEATURE CHECK
Pick something observers rated to see how it changed between the rested and the sleep-deprived photos. The bar shows how big the change was.
Small lab studies of young, healthy adults after one night without sleep. They show how faces are perceived, not long-term effects on the skin.
04TWO NUMBERS WORTH KNOWING
One figure on the study set-up,
one on how much more tired people looked.
31 hours
Hours awake before the photo
After a short night (sleep from 02.00 to 07.00), volunteers stayed awake for 31 hours before being photographed between 14.00 and 15.00.
AWAKE · BMJ 2010
+19%
Rise in tiredness ratings
Compared with normal sleep, observers rated the sleep-deprived faces 19% more tired, 6% less healthy and 4% less attractive on average.
TIREDNESS · BMJ 2010
The authors called this the first scientific support for the idea of beauty sleep. The volunteers wore no make-up and were asked to keep a neutral, relaxed expression in both photos.
05FOUR NHS HABITS
None of these costs anything. They come from NHS advice on sleeping well and fighting tiredness.
Go to bed and get up at the same time each day, and do not sleep in after a bad night.
The NHS suggests no tea, coffee or alcohol at least 6 hours before bed.
Take time to relax before bed and avoid using devices like smartphones right before sleep.
Regular exercise helps you feel less tired in the long run, but avoid it in the 4 hours before bed.
06WHY IT MATTERS
The researchers point out that the face is the main source of information for social signals. Looking tired was tied to looking sadder in the 2013 study, and to looking less healthy in 2010.
They suggest this may affect how others treat a tired person, in everyday life and even in health care. The NHS adds that if you are constantly tired during the day, you probably are not getting enough sleep.
07Questions
Lab studies suggest so. In a 2010 BMJ study, 65 observers rated the same 23 people as less healthy, less attractive and more tired after a night without sleep than after normal sleep.
In a 2013 study in the journal Sleep, sleep-deprived faces were rated as having more hanging eyelids, redder and more swollen eyes, darker circles under the eyes, paler skin, more fine lines and droopier mouth corners.
The NHS says that on average adults need 7 to 9 hours, children 9 to 13 hours and toddlers and babies 12 to 17 hours.
No. Volunteers in the 2010 study wore no make-up, and the studies measured how faces were perceived after sleep loss, not any product or treatment.
NHS tips include regular bed and wake times, relaxing before bed, avoiding caffeine and alcohol for at least 6 hours before bed and avoiding screens right before sleep. If tiredness persists, the NHS suggests seeing a GP.
08Sources
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