Sleep is a perfect moment to rejuvenate your body, as well as for your skin to repair itself after battling with free radicals, trauma, and harmful microorganisms, which cause skin aging, dullness, and breakouts. Hence, it's safe to say that sleep quality and skin health are directly correlated, and you'll know more about their relationship by reading below.
Pain During Sleep May Affect Skin Health
Pain is considered as one of the major causes of lack of sleep among many people, most especially those who have arthritis, back pain, migraine, and other types of body pain. If you're in pain, your body produces cortisol, a stress hormone. Cortisol may cause tension to the muscles in your shoulders and back, which may lead to higher blood pressure and poor sleeping habits. So, it's crucial to be pain-free to attain a night of restful and healthy sleep.
Check out these tips to attain reduced pain or a pain-free sleep at night:
- Take your pain medications as prescribed. You can try natural alternatives, such as applying hot and cold packs on the affected area or taking herbs, to avoid side effects of over-the-counter pain medications
- Assess your mattress. If it's already sagging or showing signs of wear and tear, replace it with a new one. Kate Barrington of Bed Advisor explains that sleeping in the wrong mattress can make the pain worse, leading to hip and back pain.
Sleep Deprivation May Lead To Reduced Skin Health
A study was presented by the University Hospitals Case Medical Center, which was commissioned by the famous American skincare company, Estée Lauder, which is based in New York City. It aimed to determine if there's a direct correlation between sleep and skin health.
The participants included 60 pre-menopausal women (ages 30 to 49 years old), with half of them experiencing poor sleep quality, based on the average sleep duration and the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (sleep quality questionnaire-based assessment). Visual inspection and non-invasive skin challenge tests were performed to evaluate skin health. Also, skin barrier disruption and UV light exposure were done to check results. Participants of the study were asked to fill out a sleep log to quantify sleep duration for a week.
Here are the findings of the said study:
- Physician-scientists found out that the quality of sleep greatly impacts skin function and results in signs of skin aging, such as fine lines, reduced skin elasticity, slackening, and uneven pigmentation.
- Poor sleepers tend to have increased signs of slower recovery from different environmental stressors, like ultraviolet (UV) radiation, and skin aging.
- Poor sleepers had the worse assessment of their own facial and skin appearance.
Good Sleeping Habits Promote Healthy Skin
Maintaining a good skincare routine and good sleeping habits is vital to achieving healthy skin. By sleeping on time and getting enough sleep, you can achieve hydrated and glowing skin. However, if you lack sleep and resort to poor sleeping habits, like midnight snacking, alcohol drinking, and spending hours playing video games, social networking, or surfing the Internet, your skin tends to have a dull and fatigued appearance.
So, how do you sleep your way to a healthier, more youthful skin? Here's how:
- Sleep Early: As much as possible, it's important to sleep early to get enough hours of sleep each night. By doing so, your body can rest well, and so as your skin, which is usually exposed to environmental stressors, like sun damage and pollution.
- Avoid Nighttime Snacking: Once you have brushed your teeth, it will help reduce cravings before bedtime. So, make sure to keep away chocolate bars, chips, or any type of food to avoid snacking at night. This is because high-glycemic foods may lead to skin breakouts and weight gain. Enormous amounts of glucose in your body, plus increased carbohydrate intake can elevate your insulin levels, which may lead to skin inflammation.
- Eat Nutritious Food: A balanced diet that includes fruits and vegetables helps promote better skin health and good sleep.
Good Sleep Helps Avoid Skin Problems
During sleep, your skin produces collagen to prevent early signs of skin aging. Also, it strengthens your immune system to help combat skin problems, such as herpes zoster or shingles and eczema, which are usually induced by stress.
Conclusion
Sleep, indeed, affects your skin health. That's why you have to get enough rest and sleep to avoid acne breakouts and other types of skin issues. Sleep is one effective way for your body to reduce stress and free radicals that can damage skin cells. Also, increased snacking at nighttime and lack of sleep tend to disrupt body hormones, like cortisol and insulin, leading to skin inflammation.
