28% of Brits don’t believe in ‘beauty sleep’

According to research by Dreams Beds, 28% of Britons admit to sacrificing sleep in favour of their beauty regime. Yet folk-lore, beauty experts and doctors all agree that sleep is nature’s most powerful health & beauty ‘product’.

The survey, commissioned by Dreams Beds, asked 1000 people about their sleeping habits and the time they invest in various beauty and grooming activities. It also looked at age-group and gender differences across the country.

It’s probably no surprise to most that 20% of 18-24 year-olds admit to forgetting to take off their make-up most nights. However, the same age group is also most likely to give-up sleep in favour of spending extra time on their beauty regime (24% in the morning and 19% at night).

On average Londoners who took part in the survey go to bed earliest at 9:43pm and also wake earliest at 5:56am, while people in East Anglia get-up almost a whole hour later in the morning. East Anglians are also most likely (22%) not to remove their make-up most nights, and spend the shortest amount of time on their beauty or grooming regime (9mins 15 seconds), while Londoners are most likely to annoy their partners by painting their nails before they go to sleep, and spend more time on their face than their hair.

The longest beauty regimes are followed by people in Northern Ireland at 17mins 12 seconds – almost twice as long as those in East Anglia – and as a result 31% or people from Northern Ireland admit to sacrificing sleep at night to accommodate this, with another 10% doing so in the evenings.

Nick Wood, from Dreams Beds, said, “Our survey showed that 28% of men and women across the UK are losing sleep so they can spend extra time on their beauty and grooming regime. Yet beauty experts and doctors alike agree that the best way of promoting health and beauty is a good night’s sleep which rejuvenates skin, reduces stress and helps the immune system recover.

“However, it doesn’t need to be a choice between looking good and feeling healthy. Many beauty treatments work best if applied before bed so they can work on the skin or hair as you rest, so we recommend adapting your beauty regime to take advantage of this and regain a healthy balance between grooming and a good night’s sleep.”

Tips and advice on sleep and dreams can be found at sleeptalk.dreams.co.uk.

Visit the Dreams Beds website at dreams.co.uk.