Get your beauty sleep. How often have you heard someone say this? Did you ever wonder what that means? Beauty experts across the world repeat this statement all the time because there is an underlying truth in it.
This is why you wake up with dark circles or puffy eyes when you haven’t slept enough, besides other health issues. So in this article, we have decided to tell you what your beauty sleep does to your skin and why you need it.
Highlights:
What Is Beauty Sleep?
When you get a good night’s sleep, you wake up refreshed and your skin glows naturally from within. Sleeping for 7-9 hours is vital for healthy skin. When you don’t sleep enough, cortisol, the stress hormone is released in your body. This may cause inflammation, leading to an increase in skin conditions like acne or psoriasis.
How Sleep Helps Your Skin?
When you sleep, your body replenishes its organs and tissues by delivering essential nutrients and removes excess fluid and toxins, resulting in beautiful skin. When you sleep less, it leads to bags under the eyes and releases stress hormones, which affect your immunity and increase the chance of aggravated skin problems like acne or eczema.
What Happens To Your Skin While You Sleep?
1. The Temperature Of Your Skin Changes
The skin gets warmer when we sleep, making it slightly dry. That is why dermatologists recommend a heavier cream for the night, especially in colder weather. But, if you have oily skin, you don’t need heavy creams as it can aggravate acne.
2. Calms Mind To Prevents Breakouts
When you sleep, the levels of cortisol, the hormone produced during stressful moments, go down. This reduces chances of inflammation which may lead to acne. Plus, a good night’s sleep will reduce puffiness around the eyes. Hence, a good night’s sleep relaxes the skin and you wake up refreshed.
3. Your Skin’s Cells Renew Themselves
During sleep, especially post midnight, your skin’s cells get busy - the cells divide themselves and in turn repair the skin. That is why they need all the nutrients in the hour before midnight. So if you are awake at that time, this process and thus the quality of your skin will be affected.
4. Your Skin May Lose Water
As all the processes and functions in the body slow down while you sleep, the body loses water, which is known as epidermal water loss. So it is important that you replenish this loss with a moisturiser that keeps your skin hydrated through the night.
5. Your Anti-aging Cream Will Be More Effective
When your skin is renewing itself as you sleep, the anti-aging products you apply get a chance to get absorbed thoroughly into the skin. Most of them contain retinols, which are less effective during the day as the sun may break down the ingredients and can even make your skin sensitive.
6. Your Skin Is Protected From Eco Damage
When you sleep, there is no change in the surrounding temperature (unlike the time when you step in and out of air-conditioned spaces), no cigarette smoke or pollution fumes and no make-up on your skin, which damage your skin. A sound sleep with the right products applied gives your skin a chance to recover from these external influences.
What Is The Best Time To Sleep For Healthy Skin?
9-11 pm is the best time to sleep. If you are an early riser, then go to bed by 9.30 or 10. If you get home late, try to hit the pillow by 11 pm latest.
Also, the important thing is to sleep for at least seven hours. You can even count seven hours back from the time you have to wake up, add 15 minutes for falling asleep and make that your bedtime.
What Happens To Your Skin When You Sleep Late?
Yes, sleeping late can affect your skin. If you sleep late, you get fewer hours of rest time. This means that your body’s chance to recharge, eliminate skin’s toxins and heal from the day’s stress is compromised. It also reacts on your skin in the following ways:
1. Dark Circles
The first symptom of not sleeping enough, dark circles [1] are caused by the dilation of blood vessels due to lack of sleep. They are also caused due to an imbalance in the skin’s hydration levels as the skin doesn't get enough time to drain out the toxins.
2. Under Eye Bags
When you sleep on your stomach, liquid collects in the under-eye region [2]. This also happens if you sleep late as the fluid doesn’t get drained by the skin. Sleeping on a pillow and in the right position can help solve this problem.
3. Skin Conditions
Poor sleep leads to the production of the stress hormone cortisol [3] in the body, which in turn aggravates chronic skin and other health conditions. A sound sleep, for the required number of hours therefore, is important to reduce stress levels in the body and release accumulated toxins.
4. Dull And Dry Skin
If you miss out on sleep, it affects the moisture levels and pH of your skin. A skin imbalance is created, which causes your skin to not produce the moisture it so desperately needs, leading to drier skin.
Tips For Better Skin Through Sleep
1. Sleep For 7-9 Hours
Ensure you get at least 7-9 hours [4] of sleep every night. When you sleep, your body releases the human growth hormone needed for the skin to produce collagen [5], which is responsible for firm skin, shiny hair and healthy nails.
2. Wash Your Face, Neck, Feet
Always wash your face and neck with a mild cleanser before you sleep. This removes the remnants of any products you have used in the day including make-up; dirt and grime. Washing your feet removes dirt and you feel clean when you get into bed.
3. Moisturise Before Sleep
Based on your skin type, use a moisturiser that includes an emollient like a plant-based oil, or cocoa butter, etc. This will keep your skin hydrated through the night. If you have sensitive skin, choose a hypoallergenic one that will not irritate your skin.
4. Choose Products With Antioxidants And Anti-aging Benefits
If you still wake up with dull skin after using a moisturiser, you need to choose one that has antioxidants like Green Tea or Vitamin C. These will remove the free radicals while you sleep. Anti-aging products like under-eye gels will keep fine lines and dark circles at bay.
5. Apply Products 15-20 Minutes Before Bed
Have a routine where you cleanse your face, apply your night cream and under-eye gel at least 15-20 minutes before you hit the bed. That way, most of it will get absorbed by your skin and not your pillow.
Wrapping Up
It is extremely important that you get the requisite amount of sleep every night. Sleep has multiple benefits that go a long way in improving your skin and hair. Sleeping well and enough is also good for your overall health as it aids the transfer of nutrients in the body and reduces stress levels.
Did You Know?
- It is not okay to fall asleep while watching television. If you still do, just ensure it has a timer to turn itself off. Otherwise, the glare and sounds can disturb your sleep.
- Alcohol to help you with sleeping is bad. It may wake you earlier, make you feel dehydrated and can also affect the quality of your sleep.
- Coffee before you sleep is a no-no. Instead a cup of chamomile tea or lavender tea will help you sleep.
- Meditating or breathing exercises help you sleep better.
1. https://royalsocietypublishing.org/doi/full/10.1098/rsos.160918
2. https://academic.oup.com/sleep/article/36/9/1355/2453883
3. https://www.hormone.org/your-health-and-hormones/glands-and-hormones-a-to-z/hormones/cortisol
4.https://www.sleepfoundation.org/how-sleep-works/how-much-sleep-do-we-really-need
5. https://www.sleep.org/articles/how-sleep-improves-your-skin/
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