BMJ & Christmas: Beauty Rest

The British are known for their wry sense of humor.  That's why I look forward to the Christmas issue of the British Medical Journal (BMJ) each year as it's filled with unique, shall we say, studies.  For instance, published online this week, the author's asked whether beauty sleep is real or just a phrase.

In fact, by randomly comparing the photographs of 23 healthy participants after a normal (8 hours) night's sleep and then again after 31 hours of consciousness after just 5 hours rest, 65 untrained observers were able to distinguish sleep status based upon appearance alone without actual knowledge as to when each photo was taken.

In other words, the participants appeared less healthy, less attractive, and more tired in the latter sleep deprived state compared to their former rested status.  So getting one's beauty rest isn't an excuse after all!