We can all rest easy, now, because apparently the secret to staying beautiful in the rush of our chaotic modern lives is … resting easy. Beauty sleep is not a myth after all!
The study was conducted by the Karolinska Institute in Stockholm, which gathered its data by photographing 23 young adults with a good night’s rest and also without—no makeup allowed. The photos were then rated for attractiveness on a scale of 1-10 by an outside audience of 65 objective observers. The depictions of well-rested people proved more appealing. (Thus also proving that scientists really like testing things that the rest of us think we already know.)
“Sleep deprived people are perceived as less attractive and less healthy compared with when they are well rested,” said the report published in BMJ, a British medical journal. The study indicates “that humans are sensitive to sleep-related facial cues, with potential implications for social and clinical judgments and behavior.”
So now we can all toss the Botox and take a nap. Which we were going to do anyway, but still: Thanks for backing us up, science.