Thank goodness for make up! Concealer has been God’s gift to dark circles, late nights and early mornings. And caffeine toners have been the life saving solution to puffy cheeks and eyes. Walkingg around like you’ve been hit with an ugly stick is no laughing matter, and although makeup can minimize the impact, it doesn’t provide a solution to what’s really going on with our bodies when we’re not getting adequate rest.

“Stress causes a drop in the skin’s ability to protect itself,” explains Dr. Amit Sood in an article for NBC News. Sood is an associate professor of medicine and chair of the Mind Body Initiative at Mayo Clinic who reports that unhealthy collagen in our skin, due to stress, gives us those dreaded bags under our eyes and leaves us with the “saggy” skin look.”

When we’re stressed and less-than rested, our body is at war with itself. Sleep allows our bodies to distribute water throughout the body, tighten up and refresh ourselves, but not sleeping causes the water to accumulate under our eyes, hence the “Frankenstein” face in the morning.

Not only does stress and lack of rest cause premature wrinkles, but according to Dr. Michael Rozen (a Dr. Oz collaborator and co-author), stress can also wrinkle the arteries causing our cells to age faster.

Both doctors agree that by reducing chronic stress and giving our bodies a break, we can improve our physical appearance and health. And we all want to stay young and pretty forever right?