Did you know that if you get a good night’s sleep your skin will be even more flawless? Sleep is essential for your skin as at night your skin undergoes reparation from UV damage and produces collagen to help reduce wrinkles and age spots. While some might think ‘beauty sleep’ is just a phrase coined by parents to put us to bed earlier, it is a real thing!
Before you start your daily beauty routine, it is important to know how quality beauty sleep can help your skin and body and what products to use to aid in the restoration of your skin.
For brighter, de-puffed eyes
Feeling puffy around your eyes when you wake up in the morning? This is a sign that you lack quality sleep and you’re under stress. Your cortisol levels rise, and this alters the salt balance in your body. In turn, this can lead you to retain more water – hence, puffiness! To prevent this, try sleeping with an extra pillow to keep your head elevated which helps to drain fluids as fluid can gather around your eyes when you lie flat.
Youthful, glowing skin
When we sleep, our skin is busy healing itself from the damage we might have sustained during the day from UV rays or pollution or other environmental aggressors. In fact, studies show that new skin cells grow faster while you sleep so you should take advantage of this opportunity by cleansing your skin before you sleep.
Sleep early to reduce signs of ageing
Set a time before (preferably before midnight) to go to sleep as our skin’s ageing clock turns backwards during this time. If you want to have wrinkle-free skin, try sleeping on your back. If you sleep on your sides, this causes repeated pressure on the skin, which leads to creasing and can eventually lead to more permanent lines.
How many hours are necessary for beauty sleep?
At least 7 or 8 hours of rest per night
What does sleep deprivation do to your face?
It’s easy for our friends and colleagues to tell when you haven’t gotten enough beauty sleep thanks to the dark circles around your eyes. However, our body deems lack of sleep as stress, and this results in more breakouts, slower skin cell turnover as well as reduced ability to retain moisture.
What should you apply to your face before sleeping?
Facial cleanser
Not taking off your makeup at the end of the day can cause pores to get clogged, which can then lead to breakouts. Try using a gentle, pH-balanced cleanser that will not strip your skin of its natural oils and that will maintain the slightly acidic environment your skin barrier needs to remain intact and healthy.
An anti-ageing night cream
Never skip your nightly cream or serum. These products work better during your skin’s reparation cycle which is at night. Anti-ageing night cream or serum with vitamin A or retinol before bed will help combat fine lines. Products containing hyaluronic acid retains water in your skin, which helps smooth wrinkles and keeps your skin full of hydration.
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