The Truth About Beauty Sleep

When it comes to your beauty routine, sleep may be the closest thing there is to a fountain of youth. Your body repairs itself and recovers while you snooze, and that leads to a long list of benefits for your looks. The key is to get enough shut-eye -- 7 to 9 quality hours each night.

What is Beauty Sleep“Beauty sleep" is real. Your skin uses sleep hours to heal itself from the day's damage. When you drift off, your skin gets the chance to improve. That's why you may wake up looking fresh and rosy.


If you’re getting fewer than 6 hours, it’s likely affecting your appearance, says Michael Breus, PhD, a board-certified sleep specialist. Start getting 1 to 3 more hours of Zzz's, and you could see some improvement in as little as a day. Keep it up, and “within 2 to 3 weeks, people will notice that you’re sleeping better by the way you look,” Breus says.

Here are the six beauty benefits of getting enough rest.

1. Fewer Wrinkles
Skin makes new collagen when you sleep, which prevents sagging. “That’s part of the repair process,” says Patricia Wexler, MD, a dermatologist in New York. More collagen means skin is plumper and less likely to wrinkle. Only getting 5 hours a night can lead to twice as many fine lines as sleeping 7 would. It also leaves skin drier, which can make lines more visible, Wexler says.

2. A Glowing Complexion
Your body boosts blood flow to the skin while you snooze, which means you wake to a healthy glow. Skimp on sleep and your complexion can look drab, ashen, or lifeless. “Sleep deprivation causes a decrease in blood flow to the skin surrounding your face,” Breus says. “Skin becomes dull, and you don’t get those rosy cheeks anymore.”
​
3. Brighter, Less Puffy Eyes
Chances are, you’ve had dark circles or bags under your eyes after a night of too few Zzz’s.
“Puffy eyes are one of the first things we see when we don’t sleep,” says Doris Day, MD, a clinical associate professor of dermatology at New York University Langone Medical Center. Get enough shut-eye and you'll have less puffiness under your eyes. Stay well-hydrated and elevate your head with an extra pillow at night, too. That can also help reduce swelling.

Plenty of rest can also minimize dark circles. When blood isn’t flowing well -- which happens when you’re low on sleep -- it can collect under eyes and become visible, since the skin there is so thin.
Discoloration under eyes can also be caused by genes, age, and increased melanin (the brown pigment in skin that causes it to tan in the sun). If this is the case, sleep deprivation can make your under-eye issue worse, Breus says.

4. Healthier, Fuller Hair
Hair loss, breakage, damage, and even growth can all be affected by lack of sleep, Breus says. Hair follicles (where hair growth begins) gain nutrients, vitamins, and minerals from blood flow. Since blood flow decreases when we’re short on shut-eye, “hair gets less food, it weakens, and it has difficulty growing,” Breus says. Lack of Zzz's can also lead to more stress, Wexler says. “Stress causes an increase in the hormone cortisol, which can cause you to lose hair.”

5. Happier, Healthier Appearance
Being short on sleep can cause the corners of your mouth to droop, making you look sadder than you do after a good night’s rest. “When you’re tired, your facial expressions change in subtle and consistent ways. We tend to furrow and frown more,” Day says. “When people say, ‘You look tired,’ it can be because of these expressions.”
Red, swollen eyes, dark circles, sagging eyelids, and paler skin can also signal to others that you’re exhausted. People who don't get enough rest are also seen as less healthy than when they’re rested.

6. Products Work Better
Your skin can focus on repairing itself while you sleep, since it isn’t defending itself from sun and free radicals (harmful molecules from the environment). Blood flow is also more consistent, and this helps your skin benefit from the flesh-repairing ingredients in your beauty products, Wexler says.
Skin also loses more water when you sleep than it does during the day. Apply a creamier moisturizer before bed and drink plenty of water during the day to help your complexion stay hydrated overnight, Day says.


The effects of sleep deprivation on your skin
Though one night of bad sleep isn’t serious, the cumulative effects of sleep deprivation can literally be seen on your face. That’s why we recommend sleep as an essential part of your skin care routine.


When you don’t get enough sleep, here’s what you get instead:   

• More wrinkles and complaints – One study suggests that people who sleep too little have more fine lines and wrinkles and are less satisfied with how they look, compared to people who get enough sleep!
• Dehydrated, sallow skin – Consistent lack of sleep makes it hard for your skin to stay hydrated and can cause a dull complexion known as sallow skin.
• Swollen eyes and a sad face – Sleep deprivation leads to swollen eyes and makes you look sad, according to a Swedish study. The study also suggests that appearing tired and sad may have negative social consequences.
• Impaired healing ability – Cell regeneration happens when we sleep and not getting enough sleep means we don’t heal as fast as usual. If you notice a blemish taking longer to disappear than normal, you may want to hit the hay early tonight.

If you’re not getting 7-9 hours of sleep every night—the recommended dose for adults—you may wonder how to make beauty sleep part of your life.


5 tricks for getting a good night’s sleep, every night
It’s common for people to feel stressed and helpless about not sleeping well. The good news is sleeping well relies a lot on practicing good habits that are within your control. Harvard Health Publishing suggests 12 tips for getting a good night’s rest and we recommend starting your beauty sleep routine with these five:

1. Sleep in a comfortable bed in a dark and quiet bedroom.
2. Develop a relaxing night routine, and go to bed and get up at the same time every day.
3. Don’t stay in bed if you can’t sleep—instead, go to another room, and read in dim light until you’re sleepy enough to go back to bed.
4. Set the right mental associations with your bed by using it only for sleeping and sex.
5. Watch your caffeine consumption and avoid it after 2 p.m.

​
Getting your beauty rest is one of the best things you can do for your health and your face.
We’re here to help. If you’d like to give yourself a dose of relaxation to kickstart a new sleep routine, give us a call to book a soothing facial or massage.