People Don���t Seem to Like You Very Much? You May Not Be Getting Enough Sleep

There are a lot of consequences to being plain, old tired, that���s no secret, and it turns out, according to the results of a recent study published in the Royal Society Open Science Journal, that being less well-liked may be one of them.

Huh?

As detailed in a piece over at Entreprenuer.com, researchers at the Karolinska Institute in Sweden took photographs of 25 male and female students after they had slept for eight hours each on two consecutive nights, and then took photos again after having the same students sleep just four hours a night for two consecutive nights. The images were then shown to 122 strangers who were asked to rate the people depicted on the basis of perceived attractiveness, healthfulness, sleepiness, and trustworthiness.

The results were likely what you���d expect, with some interesting twists.

Unsurprising is that the photos showing the subjects in a sleep-deprived state earned lower scores, overall, from the strangers reviewing them. Particularly interesting, however, is that those rating the pictures indicated they would be less likely to socialize with people who looked tired. The study says that the average person would avoid socializing with someone who looks to be badly in need of sleep as a way to keep from getting sick.

���Having an unhealthy-looking face, whether due to sleep deprivation or otherwise, might thus activate disease-avoidance mechanisms in others and render one���s surroundings less socially inclined,��� the study concludes.

 By Robert G. Yetman, Jr. Editor At Large