When it comes to your beauty routine, sleep may be the closest thing there is to a “Fountain of Youth.” It turns out, in order to wake up each day with healthy-looking skin, plenty of beauty sleep is required. The body repairs itself and recovers while you sleep, and that leads to a long list of benefits for your looks.
The key is to get 7-9 quality hours of sleep each night. Anything less than 6 hours of sleep per night can lead to a host of skin problems and play a role in the development of extra wrinkles, fine lines, sagging eyelids, swollen eyes, dark under eye circles, and dull skin.
DID YOU KNOW? During sleep, your body’s hydration rebalances and recovers extra moisture. This makes sleep a natural moisturizer that can help to smooth out wrinkles on the skin. If you miss out on sleep, it can affect the moisture levels in your skin and lower your complexion’s PH level. When your PH level drops, a skin imbalance is created, which can cause your skin to not produce the moisture it needs, thus leading to dryer skin. While sleeping, your body releases human growth hormone, a necessary ingredient for collagen production – the protein that gives you shiny hair, strong nails and glowing skin. Collagen production helps your skin not sag and also help repair damage from UV exposure, reducing wrinkles and fine lines. When you don’t get enough sleep, the stress hormone cortisol is released. Cortisol triggers inflammation in the skin causing flare-ups in conditions like acne, psoriasis, and even eczema.
Do you have a bedtime routine to get 7-9 hour of sleep per night? If bedtime has drifted later and later recently, try moving it forward in 15-minute increments over the course of a week or two until you achieve at least a 7-hour minimum. Happy Beauty Sleep!
