Why your skin needs 8 hours of beauty sleep too!
The quality and length of sleep you receive every night can have a profound impact on your skin’s overall health. When we sleep our bodies recharge. Not only do our bodies recharge, our skin does as well. During sleep we heal, restore and eliminate toxins from the skin. If sleep is compromised so is the body’s ability to carry out these essential skin functions. The middle of sleep is when melatonin is increased. Melatonin is a hormone that is responsible for regulating your circadian rhythm (sleep/wake patterns), but also acts as an antioxidant that helps protect the skin from damaging free radicals.
Here are the 3 ways lack of sleep is ruining your skin and wreaking havoc on your appearance:
1. Dull Skin
a. When you miss sleep your cortisol levels increase. Cortisol triggers inflammation. Inflammation breaks down the proteins in the skin that keep skin radiant and smooth. When you are tired the blood in your body is not flowing efficiently which normally results in a lack of oxygen in the blood. This lack of oxygen causes your skin to appear ashy, pigmented, or blotchy.
2. Dry Skin
a. Did you know that during sleep you perspire more? It’s true. While you are asleep your body’s hydration re balances 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 also affect the moisture levels in your skin and lower your complexion’s PH level. A skin imbalance is created when your PH levels drop. This imbalance causes your skin to not produce the moisture it so desperately needs, leading to drier skin.
3. Collagen production / aging process
a. When you miss out on sleep this directly applies stress to the body. Chronic stress harms the integrity of the skin. Collagen is an important ingredient in the elasticity and structure of skin. When collagen is broken down, the skin shows more noticeable signs of aging by becoming thinner and less firm. When skin is thin its appearance is less smooth and subtle and showcases wrinkling more prominently.
