The Sleep-Skincare Connection: How Does Rest Impact Your Skin Health?
When it comes to skincare, we tend to focus more on external factors such as pollution, weather, and food choices. But did you know that getting enough quality sleep is often an important factor that’s overlooked? Let’s explore the fascinating connection between sleep and skin health, and how prioritizing rest can lead to a healthier, more radiant glow.
What happens to our skin when we lack sleep?
We only have 24 hours in a day and for some, it might not be enough. Be it cramming for exams, chasing deadlines at work, or binge-watching your favourite series, you may have pulled at least a late-nighter or two. Many think that the consequences of a lack of sleep are simply fatigue and grogginess, which can be easily solved by a quick cup of coffee or energy drink.
While this may be true, sleep deficit can also cause a decline in skin health, leading to a wide range of potential issues.
Premature Ageing
During sleep, our body undergoes a process of repair and regeneration, where new cells are produced to replace old, damaged ones. Additionally, our bodies produce collagen, a protein that provides elasticity and firmness to our skin. When you are sleep deprived, which means getting less than the recommended 7 to 9 hours, your body will begin to display signs of ageing. Wrinkles, such as crow’s feet, will begin to appear, along with having a tired and haggard complexion.
Lack of Blood Circulation
A lack of sleep can cause your skin to become pale due to poor blood circulation, resulting in blood vessels standing out. Furthermore, when combined with the possibility of fluid retention, it can produce tired eyes, dark eye circles, and eye bags. This can make you look ill and lethargic. Adding on, you may also develop dull skin due to less oxygen and nutrients reaching the cells and a buildup of toxins in the body.
Worsen Current Skin Conditions
Cortisol, also known as the stress hormone, in your body elevates when sleep-deprived. It may worsen any current skin conditions you may have, especially acne and oily skin. In addition, the hormone can cause skin alterations such as rosacea and psoriasis if produced excessively over a long period.
How to improve your sleep routine for better skin?
There are many guides to be found online, so it can be easy to get overwhelmed. Our bedrooms are mainly designed for our convenience during the day, but it may come at the cost of disrupting our quality of rest.
Continue reading to see our tips for improving your sleep routine, and hopefully, get you started on making changes that’ll have an impact on not only your skincare but also your well-being!
Tidiness:
Do you have your phone and laptop beside the bed? Is your desk cluttered with folders, files, and mess? Are your clothes piled on a chair for easy grabbing during the day? While these items are often found in a bedroom, they make your room feel claustrophobic.
We recommend having a designated space for each item. For example, folders and files go into a specific drawer, while clothes go into the wardrobe. If you have extra furniture that’s barely used, such as an extra chair or dresser, it might be time to find a new home for them.
Distractions:
The lights from electronics can disrupt our sleep-wake cycle. For example, the glow from computer screens along with mobile phones can negatively affect levels of melatonin, a hormone that promotes sleep. In addition to the disruption caused by lights, those who work, check their emails and scroll through social media before bed may have a higher stress level, which can further impact their quality of sleep.
If you find yourself reaching for the phone or laptop during the night, you might want to put them in another room. Combine this with setting them to “do not disturb” mode, along with stopping the use of electronics an hour before bed. This will give you time to wind down so your mind can focus on sleep without distractions.
Temperature:
The best temperature for sleep is between 15 and 22 degrees Celsius. Instead of leaving your air conditioner on throughout the night, you can also opt to use an electric fan to help cool the room. Having blackout curtains to reduce the amount of heat coming in when the sun is at its peak may also help keep the temperature down.
Noise:
As you find yourself drifting off into sleep, a loud honk or shout suddenly jerks you awake. If you live in an environment where noises are out of your control, such as noisy neighbours, traffic, or ongoing construction, you’ll have to take certain measures.
The most common solution is to wear earplugs or noise-cancelling headphones. They’re easy to use and can effectively block out external sounds. You can also keep a fan turned on or get a white noise machine to dampen disruptive noise.
Want to know more about skin health?
We hope this article has inspired you to work towards getting better sleep!
Contact us today to know more about how to best care for your skin!