HOW DOES SLEEP AFFECT OUR SKIN
Everyone is familiar with the term beauty sleep. Have you ever wondered about this? Research shows that sleep is part of your skin care routine. So, what exactly does sleep do for this organ of the body?
According to Karin Olszewski, a registered nurse at Samaritan Health Services – a non-profit organization that brings together community hospitals, medical clinics and health insurance plans – “the beauty value of sleep is that it gives your skin time to rebuild itself." Our skin acts as a protective barrier during the day, whether it's shielding against ultraviolet light from the sun or germs touching our face throughout the day. Sleep between seven and nine hours a night helps your skin to heal from the effects of ultraviolet light from the sun What about skin that regenerates more quickly at night Thanks to skin cells, collagen, the protein responsible for volume and elasticity? our skin, forms hair and as our skin cells regenerate The increased blood flow also has a positive impact on our skin during sleep as it provides the necessary nutrients that protect our skin from the various exposures of the day.
In a Korean study of skin characteristics with long-term sleep restrictions, skin changes were assessed by limiting sleep to four hours per night for six nights.
─ Korean women in their 40s participated by sleeping eight hours per night for six nights in week 1, followed by four hours per night for six nights in week 2.
WHAT WERE THE FOCUS POINTS DURING THIS SKIN ASSESSMENT?
SKIN HYDRATION
DRY SKIN
RECOVERY BARRIER
TEXTURE
SKIN SHINE
TRANSPARENCY
ELASTICITY
GOOSE FEET
LION WRINKLES
SKIN COLOR
RESULTS
─ After just one night of week 2, skin dehydration increased extremely and continued to increase over the following nights. Skin shine, skin dryness, transparency, elasticity and wrinkles also started to suffer from day one. Skin texture was very worse on the fourth day of sleep deprivation. Elasticity suffered the hardest drop of all, resulting in a pronounced decrease during this test.
Overall, lack of sleep has many damages, both internal and external. The good news is that it's never too late to adopt healthier lifestyle habits, including getting enough sleep! One thing that can help is to set an alarm for yourself when it's time to start getting ready for bed. Sleep can be difficult for different reasons. If your cell phone is the distraction, consider not having it within reach once you lie down. Another tip would be to put your phone on silent during weekend nights. Fortunately, there are some solutions to improve our health. It turns out that by following the tips, our skin care will also have a positive effect!