Healthy skin begins with healthy sleep. Keep that in mind when you change your clocks to spring forward this weekend! When you’re not getting enough sleep, your face can definitely show it. Your dark, puffy eyes and lackluster skin are dead giveaways that you’ve been up all night. Keep it up, and you’ll eventually see fine lines and wrinkles. Chronic sleep deprivation will surely put you on the fast lane to looking older. So if you’re looking to maintain that healthy, glowing complexion, be sure you’re getting proper beauty rest. Here’s why:
Increased Stress Hormones – A lack of sleep increases the stress hormone, cortisol, in your body. Elevated levels of cortisol leads to inflammation of the skin cells and can break down collagen and hyaluronic acid (the molecules that keep your skin glowing and bouncy). The increase in inflammatory cells can also cause acne, psoriasis and accelerate aging.
Skin Needs To Rehydrate – sleeping allows your skin to recover moisture. When you’re not getting enough sleep, it hinders your body’s ability to rebalance hydration leaving you with dark puffy bags under your eyes and dryness in your skin.
Skin Needs To Heal – Not sleeping reduces your skin’s ability to recover and further impairs it’s normal healing process. During the day, your skin goes into full defense mode to protect it from UV lights and other environmental stressors that break down healthy skin. Sleeping allows your skin to produce more healthy cells and replace the ones that are damaged.
If you’re one of the millions of Americans who are sleep deprived, the good news is that skin recovers quickly. Sleep is your body’s natural defense against aging. So if you’re looking to keep your skin young and refreshed, be sure you’re getting that optimal seven to nine hours of sleep and wake up to a healthier looking you.
Book an appointment with DC Derm Docs for a free skincare consultation.