Sleep deprivation makes us appear unattractive and sad looking?

 Is there really such a thing as beauty sleep? 

There is an old Russian proverb, ‘Morning Is Wiser Than Evening’  which my grandmother used to send me to bed with. This proverb appears in many Russian tales which I read avidly as a kid.  Later, when I grew up, I learned to make all important decisions after a good night’s sleep. Sleep deprivation makes us appear unattractive, sad looking? Perhaps it makes us less wise too?

Now, new research says that people can recognise tired faces.  Compared to well-slept subjects, the sleep-deprived people appear to have “darker circles under the eyes and paler skin”. They also have “more wrinkles/fine lines, and more droopy corners of the mouth.”   I guess, when my grandmother was sending me to bed, she also wanted me to look beautiful and be wise the next day!

So, this is yet another reason to always get eight hours of sleep, especially if appearing beautiful, healthy, smart and happy is consistent with your personal brand.

Scientists have many theories about why we sleep. New research points to the idea that we sleep in order to clear our neural networks of the unimportant events of the day and make room for new learning the next day.  So, the old Russian proverb, ‘Morning Is Wiser Than Evening’  has proven to be true.

 

Have you ever wanted to tell someone they look sleep-deprived, but stopped yourself?

Are they really sleep-deprived, or it is just how their eyes usually look?

Remember, not everyone likes to be told they look tired. In 2010, researchers at the University of Stockholm found that people who appear tired are also more likely to be perceived as unhealthy and less attractive.

The Sweden-based research team published even more specific details in the Academic Journal of Sleep  to help us understand relationship between how we sleep and how we appear.  Tina Sundelin , Department of Clinical Neuroscience, photographed research subjects on two separate occasions: after eight hearty hours of sleep, and then after 31 hours awake. Forty people then rated the photographs for fatigue, sadness, and ten metrics of physical appearance.

The eyes of sleep-deprived people,  bore the greatest burden. They had more hanging eyelids, more swollen eyes and darker circles under the eyes. People also perceived sleep-deprived subjects as being sadder and having paler skin, more wrinkles or fine lines, and “more droopy corners of the mouth.”

Tina Sundelin – “Faces contain a lot of information on which humans base their interactions with each other. How fatigued a person appears, may affect how others behave toward them.  Is this part of our natural sense of empathy?  “Should I go easy on this tired person,  Should I offer them a bed?” Or is it part of an natural ability to identify and exploit weakness? “This person looks tired. Now would be a good time to rob them.”

 

Melatonin – The Potent Antioxidant in Montmorency Tart Cherries May Improve Your Sleep

Tart cherry melatonin, sleep, recovery

Tart Montmorency cherries have been reported to contain high levels of phytochemicals including melatonin, a molecule critical in regulating the sleep-wake cycle in humans.

Study published in European Journal of Nutrition suggests that consumption of tart cherry provides an increase in exogenous melatonin.  Melatonin is beneficial in improving sleep duration and quality in healthy men and women and might be beneficial to manage disturbed sleep.

Another study was conducted at the University of Texas Health Science Centre.  This study found significant increase melatonin levels in bloodstream after individuals consumed tart cherries.  The implication of this finding is that consuming  tart cherries could be an important source of dietary melatonin. Melatonin is readily absorbed when ingested.  Previously published data and the results presented here show that melatonin is not only endogenously produced but also present in the diet. Consuming food rich in melatonin may improve your sleeping.