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Beauty 101

Sleeping And Your Skin

Rachel Gibbons Beauty Expert
Sleeping And Your Skin

We do so much to make our skin look great in the morning. Our bathroom counters are cluttered with everything from 10-step skin care to Fenty foundation, or the most recent Sephora haul from clean beauty brands. 

But what if one of the biggest secrets to better skin was as simple as laying down and taking a nap? After all, our body never stops working — especially when we’re asleep.

It turns out there’s quite a bit of research and science behind the concept of beauty rest. Sleep is when some of the most important internal — and epidermal — recovery takes place!

While you shouldn’t fully abandon your daytime skin care routine in favour of getting more Zzz’s, there are some easy ways to amp your skin-sleep relationship for morning results.

You can almost immediately tell that getting a poor night of sleep doesn’t do woke-up-like-this wonders for your face. Research even says that one night of poor sleep can cause hanging eyelids, swelling eyes, darker under eye circles, paler skin, more wrinkles and fine lines and more droopy corners of the mouth. 

A 2017 study found that two days of sleep restriction negatively affected participant’s perceived attractiveness, health, sleepiness, and trustworthiness. So, what seems like an overnight issue could transform into something more permanent.

First and foremost, you should understand that sleep is the time when your body repairs itself. This is true for your epidermis as much as it is for your brain or your muscles. During sleep, your skin’s blood flow increases, and the organ rebuilds its collagen and repairs damage from UV exposure, reducing wrinkles and age spots.

Second, sleep is a time when your face inevitably comes into contact with the elements directly around it for a long time, especially if you’re getting the recommended seven to nine hours each night.

Think about it: Your face against rough, drying cotton for one-third of its existence and being exposed to the sun for two unprotected hours could do a number on the appearance and health of your skin. Here’s what you can do to help give your skin a rest.

Sleep on your back or use a special pillowcase

It makes sense that the position your face is in while you sleep (for one-third of your day!) matters to your skin. Sleeping on a rough cotton surface can irritate your skin and compress your face for long hours at a time, resulting in wrinkles. While most wrinkles are caused by the expressions we make while we’re awake, wrinkles on the face and chest can result from sleeping on our stomachs or sides. 

An easy solution to this is sleeping on your back — which also has a few other benefits — even if you have to train yourself over time. If you prefer to sleep on your side, get a skin-friendly pillow. A satin or silk pillow minimises skin irritation and compression while copper-oxide pillowcases may reduce crow’s-feet and other fine lines.

Use an overnight moisturiser and put a glass of water on your bedside table

Washing your face can dry it out and sleeping can also dehydrate skin, especially if you snooze in a low-humidity environment. While staying hydrated by drinking water can help to some extent, what your skin really needs at night is a topical moisturiser.

Again, you don’t need the fanciest product on the market. You just need a thicker cream or oil that can help your skin as you sleep. Another option is to use your day moisturiser and layer petroleum jelly — using clean hands — on top to lock in the moisturise. For a more supercharged product, try an overnight sleeping mask.

Elevate your head

Elevating your head has been proven to help with snoring, acid reflux, and nasal drip — all issues that can disturb the quality of your sleep, and therefore your skin. In addition, it can help reduce bags and circles under your eyes by improving blood flow and preventing blood from pooling.

Elevating your head while you sleep can be as simple as adding an extra pillow, adding a wedge to your mattress, or even propping the head of your bed by a few inches.

To conclude, sleep truly is the best thing you could do for your skin! Make sure to sleep well with these tiny adjustments to ensure long term, glowy skin. 

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