Sleep and your face: what the research shows.

What the studies found

In a study published in the BMJ, researchers photographed 23 adults after a normal night of sleep and again after sleep deprivation. Untrained observers then rated the photos. People looked less healthy, more tired and less attractive after sleep loss (Axelsson et al., 2010).

A second controlled study in the journal Sleep looked at which features give it away. After sleep deprivation, faces showed more hanging eyelids, redder and more swollen eyes, darker circles under the eyes, paler skin, more wrinkles and fine lines, and more droopy corners of the mouth (Sundelin et al., 2013).

Both studies used short-term sleep loss. The practical point is simple: the features that Hexum measures around the eyes and skin, such as canthal tilt and skin quality, read very differently when you are rested.

A 7-day sleep reset for your face

1. Fix your wake time first. Pick one wake time and keep it within 30 minutes every day, weekends included.
2. Aim for 7 to 9 hours in bed. Count from lights out, not from getting into bed with your phone.
3. Cut caffeine 8 hours before bed. A 2 pm cutoff works for most people.
4. Dim lights and screens for the last hour.
5. Keep the room cool and dark.
6. Scan on day 1 and day 7. Take both scans at the same time of day with the same lighting (see how to take a face scan photo) so the comparison is fair.

Where Hexum fits

Hexum scans 247 facial landmarks and scores 34 metrics, so you can see what changes between a tired week and a rested one instead of guessing. Its daily improvement protocol builds sleep, skin and facial work into one plan. Hexum users average a +35% improvement in Overall Score from first scan to week 6.^*

* Average change in Hexum Overall Score, first scan to week 6. Based on Hexum’s own user data; not a published study.

References

1. Axelsson J, et al. (2010). Beauty sleep: experimental study on the perceived health and attractiveness of sleep deprived people. BMJ, 341:c6614. doi:10.1136/bmj.c6614
2. Sundelin T, et al. (2013). Cues of fatigue: effects of sleep deprivation on facial appearance. Sleep, 36(9):1355-1360. doi:10.5665/sleep.2964