Sleep Deprivation Makes You Appear Unattractive and Sad

[xchrom]

http://www.theatlantic.com/health/archive/2013/09/sleep-deprivation-makes-you-appear-unattractive-and-sad/279239/



Have you ever wanted to tell someone they look sleep-deprived, but then just before you do, stopped yourself? Because, wait, are they really sleep-deprived? Or is that just how their eyes usually look? Also, 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. So, yes, "You look tired" is an unambiguous insult. The Sweden-based research team published even more specific details in the academic journal Sleep this week to help us sort the inexorable facts on the link between how we sleep and how we appear.

Doctoral candidate Tina Sundelin and her team photographed research subjects on two separate occasions: Once after eight hearty hours of sleep, and then once after 31 hours awake. Forty people then rated the photographs on scales for fatigue, sadness, and ten metrics of physical appearance.

The eyes of sleep-deprived individuals bored the biggest burden. They were perceived as having "more hanging eyelids, redder eyes, more swollen eyes and darker circles under the eyes." Sleep deprived subjects were perceived as being sadder and having paler skin, more wrinkles or fine lines, and "more droopy corners of the mouth."

[Clown is Down]

1. So that's my excuse :) n/t

[SheilaT]

2. Most of the time I get plenty of sleep.

But when I am short, I notice I look older, mainly because the lines and creases in my face are far more noticeable.

I've been preaching for years that it's A Good Idea to get plenty of sleep, but unfortunately there's a myth out there that people need less sleep than they really do. I'm convinced that among the reasons I'm so very healthy is that my entire life I've usually gotten enough sleep.

[cate94]

3. I'm sure it is true.

Unfortunately, I don't sleep. I fall asleep easily but staying asleep is a challenge.

[SheilaT]

4. At the risk of sounding like I'm blaming you,

and trust me, I don't mean it this way, it's easy to constantly be on the edge of needing to be aroused. What I want to say, is that you need to give yourself permission to get as much sleep as you need.

It's not easy. I was married for 25 years to a man who was hyper-arousable, meaning he would awaken at the slightest stimulus. At one point we had a parrot, and if the parrot stretched her wings in the other room it woke him up. I know it's easy for me to criticize, because I've always been one who could sleep forever. I was famous in my youth, meaning my twenties, of being able to sleep 12, 14, 16 hours straight. For me it was partly a response to having a job that too often required I only sleep about 4 hours, so when I could sleep a long time I did.

My first trip to London, I got to my hotel room (after the overnight flight) at noon. There was an alarm clock in the room, so as I was very tired I set it for 3pm, figuring I could get up and spend the afternoon and evening in the city. Apparently it didn't go off, because when I woke up it was midnight. Crap! An entire day wasted. So I puttered around, took a bath, read a little, and went back to sleep, figuring I'd wake up at some reasonable hour in the morning. I don't even think I put a Do Not Disturb sign on my door. I slept soundly, and when I next rolled over and looked at the clock it was . . . 3pm. Twenty four hours solid of sleep. I will say that I don't think I've ever felt better in my life.

Point is, if you can figure out how to get enough sleep, whether it's by changing when you go to bed or wake up, or by taking something or another to help you sleep, I hope you can figure it out. Personally, I'm convinced that my annoyingly good health is in no small part from a lifetime of mostly getting enough sleep.

[cate94]

5. 24 hours of solid sleep?

I am quite jealous! Even if you did waste a day while in London...!

Aside from taking medication, I have tried all the strategies the experts advise. It is frustrating. Taking meds is difficult if you don't know which nights you will wake and which you might sleep through.

I wake up for many reasons, leg cramps, night sweats and the need to pee are the biggest problem. But certainly there are other factors including sometimes getting hyper vigilant. Coyotes howling, the dog barking, my partner trying to steal the covers, I used to be able to fall back asleep easily from these annoyances but not as I get older.

Maybe the next time I go to the Dr. I will ask for meds. It might not hurt to have them on hand. Thanks for your thoughts. I didn't think they were "blaming" at all.