Beauty sleep is a phrase we have all heard time and time again. Maybe from your grandmother or perhaps in your favorite fairytale, but have you ever really considered that it’s real and something you should prioritize?

As if you needed another reason to stay in bed longer, but other than just not being exhausted all day, there are some fantastic beauty benefits to getting enough sleep. Ergo the term beauty sleep.

After a rough night, you may not look your best. Getting enough shut-eye is the best beauty booster. Not only do you deserve the self-care that getting a proper snooze provides, but your skin will benefit from a few extra Zzz’s.

While you sleep, your body is recovering. From your mind to your muscles to your skin, it all benefits from rest. This is one of the reasons we tend to use more intense skincare products at night. Since your skin naturally repairs itself while you sleep, moisturizers, anti-aging serums, and the like all offer even more potent results while you get your rest.

Sleeping helps you produce collagen, which resurfaces your skin and heals multiple skin issues. Therefore the more sleep you get, the more collagen you create, and the more benefits your skin will receive. Those who regularly get less than five hours of sleep show signs of aging earlier in life than those who get more than seven hours nightly.

There are plenty of beauty products you can use in the AM to boost radiance and glow in your skin. But instead of investing in expensive skincare, wouldn’t you rather get a full night’s sleep and look more glowy naturally?

When you get too little sleep, your skin can look dull and dry, which makes you look more tired. When you get the amount of sleep your body needs, you should wake up with bright and radiant skin, not drab, lackluster skin. Why save up to afford your skincare routine when just a few more hours cuddled up in bed can make all the difference?

This one is pretty obvious, but darkness under the eyes. This is a telltale sign that you got less than your full night of sleep. This is also the reason concealer companies aren’t going out of business anytime soon. We try everything we can to cover up those unflattering bags. And although waking up feeling rested may not entirely turn the clock back, beauty sleep is a way to prevent the problem rather than hiding it. Getting enough sleep should improve darkness and fine lines, so you look younger and well-rested.

Less sleep means your body and mind are not adequately resting. And without that rest, you become stressed, exhausted, and underperform in every aspect of your life. All of this leads to your body overproducing the hormone cortisol. This overdrive of hormones can freak out your body in multiple ways. Not only will it increase inflammation, but it can cause acne and even hair loss. So if you thought staying up to finish watching the latest season of You was worth a few hours of shut-eye, maybe, think again.

Along with beauty sleep, snoozing offers tons of other health benefits. Getting a visit from the sandman helps to improve your immunity, memory, and your mood. If you haven’t drifted off to dreamland lately, your chances of experiencing anxiety, depression, and even irritability are all increased. But dozing off improves your stress levels, creativity, coordination, and more.

Once you start seeing all the benefits of a good night’s sleep, you should be waking up like this every morning. When you rise and shine after a full night’s sleep, you feel more refreshed and alert so that all parts of your life are improved.

This is no excuse for staying in bed on your phone until noon. Instead, heading to bed a bit earlier will offer the most effective beauty benefits. Instead of thinking of sleep as a bodily necessity, consider it a significant player in your skincare routine. Beauty sleep is a real thing.