• Question: Why do under our eyes darken if we are tired?

    Asked by wizzyg12 to Claire, Matt, Rob, Sam on 25 Jun 2013.
    • Photo: Robert Woolfson

      Robert Woolfson answered on 25 Jun 2013:

      Disclaimer – I don’t know if this is right or not, but here goes.

      So the dark circles are often caused by the blood vessels under our eyes becoming visible. Usually, it’s because you’re sick and the blood vessels have more blood in than usual.

      When you’re tired, the muscles in your face can relax. This causes the skin around your eyes to become a bit saggy, making the skin look a bit darken and making the blood vessels a little more visible. This is kind of a double strength effect that really makes the bags stronger.

    • Photo: Claire Lee

      Claire Lee answered on 26 Jun 2013:

      Ha, perfect question for my yesterday – I’d had 2 hours of sleep and survived the day on almost a litre of red bull (do not try this at home, kids). I looked pretty terrible, if I do say so myself 🙂

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