I bloody love sleep!  I’d love to go back to being a teenager where I could sleep for 10 hours straight if not more….. it isn’t that simple these days for a number of reasons but where sleep comes, the more the better!

So other than revitalising us and giving us enough energy to get through the day are there any advantages to sleep.  Is ‘beauty sleep’ a real thing?

Well during sleep the blood flow to your skin does increase, helping it to rebuild collagen and repairs any damage from UV exposure.  Conversely without regular sleep people say they notice an increase in fine lines and a reduction of elasticity.  This means a lack of sleep lowers the skins ability to rejuvenate itself and may cause individuals to look older than their years. 

There has been a sleep deprivation study which has shown that it affects facial features such as the eyes, mouth and skin. Apparently the study found that faces of sleep-deprived individuals were perceived as having more hanging eyelids, redder eyes, more swollen eyes and darker circles under the eyes.  Sleep deprivation was also associated with paler skin, more wrinkles or fine lines, and more droopy corners of the mouth.  People also looked sadder when sleep-deprived than after normal sleep, and sadness was related to looking fatigued.

Handsome is a word that means different things to different people but frankly if better quality sleep is going to mean I look less pale, less wrinkled, have brighter eyes, stronger healthier hair and generally look happier I am off right now for a quick Siesta!!