Hi there, it's Matt here and welcome back to a new episode. And this episode is all about the

science of beauty sleep and sleep wrinkles. And more specifically what we're going to explore

today is how sleep and a lack thereof affects our appearance in different ways.

And we'll look at this in two different ways. First, we'll try to understand what happens

when we don't get enough sleep in terms of our physical appearance and why biologically our physical appearance actually changes as a consequence

of a lack of sleep. So you may be thinking, that all sounds a bit cryptic, Matthew, what do you mean?

We're going to explain things like dark circles under the eyes when you're not getting enough

sleep. So that will be a first part. What happens when

you don't get enough sleep? The second is a related question, which is, again, about appearance,

but what happens when we do get sleep? And rather than speak about the benefits of sleep,

of which there are so many, and of course, if you're an avid listener to this

podcast, you know all of the brain and body benefits. But here I'm talking about the potential

issues around the appearance of your skin due to the physicality of sleeping and the compression forces on the face,

which relates to the second topic of today, and that is, sleep wrinkles.

Before we begin, I want to emphasize something that, at least for me, is really important.

While it is completely natural for many of us to care about our appearance to some degree,

it is crucial to remember that visual appearance isn't everything.

Our value and our beauty also lie in our actions, our character, how we treat each other,

not to mention how we treat ourselves as well.

With that said, and with that in mind, let's approach this topic today with wonderful

curiosity and scientific interest. Let's start with the impact of a lack of

sleep on your appearance. And this brings me on to some truly eye-opening research by a friend

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