Step 1 in your new beauty routine: hit the sack earlier the night before! Research has proven that a good night’s sleep makes you look healthier, happier, and–yes–more attractive. “Beauty Sleep” isn’t just a silly cliché–it is backed up by solid evidence.

This is especially important for people who suffer from sleep apnea, because studies have shown that people who use a CPAP machine are rated more attractive than people with untreated sleep apnea!

Better Sleep Makes you Better-Looking

The restorative powers of sleep aren’t just mental. They also have a visible affect on your personal appearance.

Sleep Deprivation is Unattractive

In a 2010 study¹, pictures were taken of several adults, once when they were fully-rested and once after they were kept awake for 31 hours. These pictures were shown to a group of 65 adults of all ages, who rated them on various factors.

The sleep-deprived pictures were described as less healthy and less attractive than their well-rested counterparts. Plus, the sleep-deprived pictures were overwhelmingly described as more tired…just in case you think you’re fooling anyone when you pull an all-nighter.

How Facial Appearance Changes when You’re Tired

When you’re running low on sleep, physical changes actually occur to your face that betray your tiredness. Another photographic study² found that the signs of sleep deprivation include hanging eyelids, red and swollen eyes, dark circles under the eyes, paler skin, more wrinkles, and drooping corners of the mouth.

Plus, those that showed signs of fatigue were judged to look sadder than the well-rested subjects. That’s right: sleep deprivation makes you look unhappy. (This isn’t surprising, considering that poor sleep has negative emotional effects, such as lack of self-esteem and perceiving other people as less friendly.)

It’s Confirmed: CPAP is Sexy

One group of people that don’t get a lot of sleep is those with sleep apnea. People with this sleep disorder experience a blockage of the airway while they are sleeping, causing them to partially wake up and never sink into restorative sleep. Thankfully, PAP therapy is virtually 100% effective at treating sleep apnea and can prevent or reverse nearly all symptoms of the disorder–including the visual toll taken by poor sleep.

Researchers at the University of Michigan³ analyzed before-and-after photographs of sleep apnea patients who had recently started PAP therapy. Subjects who looked at the before-and-after pictures without knowing which was which rated the post-treatment photos as more alert, more attractive, and more youthful 2/3 of the time. They were also able to identify the post-treatment photo 2/3 of the time.

Additionally, researchers used professional face-scanning technology to objectively compare the patients’ features before and after treatment. They found that post-treatment, patients’ faces were less red and puffy and that they showed fewer forehead wrinkles. These results were attained after only a few months of PAP usage.

These results are pretty conclusive: Using PAP treatment makes people with sleep apnea look more attractive and more youthful.

This Only Scratches the Surface

The negative effects of sleep deprivation and the health consequences of sleep apnea go far beyond skin-deep. Being sleepy decreases your emotional, mental, and physical health, while sleep apnea triples your risk of high blood pressure, doubles your risk of diabetes, and triples your risk of being in a car accident (sources here). In fact, the physical ramifications of sleep deprivation are one of the least significant reasons why you should be making sure you’re getting good-quality sleep.

Check out these sleep duration guidelines to see if you’re getting the recommended amount of sleep. If you have sleep apnea or think you might have sleep apnea, it is very important to seek treatment. Click on our links below to learn more about PAP treatment and start your treatment journey.

Request a sleep study

Sources:

1) Axelsson, John et al. “Beauty sleep: experimental study on the perceived health and attractiveness of sleep deprived people.” British Medical Journal.

2) Sundelin, Tina et al. “Cues of Fatigue: Effects of Sleep Deprivation on Facial Appearance.” Sleep Journal.

3) Chervin, Ronald D. M.D., M.S., F.A.A.S.M. et al. The Face of Sleepiness: Improvement in Appearance after Treatment of Sleep Apnea.” Journal of Clinical Sleep Medicine.

Other posts you may find interesting: