The Mechanism of Sleep and It's Importance in Your Beauty Regimen

Sleep is one of the most essential tools for healthy, glowing skin. A good night's sleep can mean good skin health because when you're sleep-deprived, your body makes more of the stress hormone cortisol. Elevated levels of cortisol can lead to increased stress and inflammation in the body, hurting your skin's quality. Your body repairs itself and recovers while you snooze, and that leads to a long list of benefits for your looks. Your body increases blood flow and circulation, which is why we wake up glowing and feel refreshed after a great night's sleep.

 

Let's look at the benefits of beauty sleep:

A Skin that glows

When we sleep, our skin is busy healing itself from the damage we might have sustained in the day from UV rays or pollution. Your body boosts blood flow to the skin while you snooze, making the organs rebuild their collagen and repairs damage from UV exposure, reducing wrinkles and age spots, which in turn means you wake to a healthy glow. Skimp on sleep, and your complexion can look drab, ashen, or lifeless. Studies show that new skin cells grow faster while you sleep.

 

Reduces Wrinkles

Skin makes new collagen when you sleep, which prevents sagging. That's part of the repair process. More collagen means the skin is plumper and less likely to wrinkle. Only getting five hours a night can lead to twice as many fine lines as sleeping seven would. It also leaves skin drier, which can make lines more visible. Hence sleep is vital to reduce the effects of ageing.

 

Products work better

Your skin can focus on repairing itself while you sleep since it isn't defending itself from sun and free radicals (harmful molecules from the environment). Blood flow is also more consistent, and this helps your skin benefit from the flesh-repairing ingredients in your beauty product. Skin also loses more water when you sleep than it does during the day. Apply a creamier moisturizer before bed and drink plenty of water during the day to help your complexion stay hydrated overnight.

 

Better looking Eyes

When you're under stress, your cortisol levels rise, and this changes the salt balance in your body. In turn, this can lead you to retain water therefore, puffiness. For less puffy eyes, try the above extra-pillow trick to help drain fluids. When you lie flat, fluid can gather around your eyes, which leads to the eyes being puffed.

 

Minimize dark circles

When blood isn't flowing well -- which happens when you're low on sleep -- it can collect under eyes and become visible, since the skin there is so thin. Discolouration under eyes can also be caused by genes, age, and increased melanin (the brown pigment in skin that causes it to tan in the sun). If this is the case, sleep deprivation can make your under-eye issue worse.

 

Why sleep is important

These are the overall benefits of the body, having a perfect sleep. Which is around 7-9 hours, depending from person to person. Let's look at average sleep cycle requirements for people:

14 to 17 years old 8 – 10 hrs

Young adults (18 to 25 years old) 7 – 9 hrs

Adults (26 to 64 years old) 7 – 9 hrs

It's not just the number of hours you spend asleep that's important—it's the quality of those hours. If you give yourself plenty of time for sleep but still have trouble waking up in the morning or staying alert all day, you may not be spending enough time in the different stages of sleep. Each stage of sleep in your sleep cycle offers distinct benefits. However, deep sleep (the time when the body repairs itself and builds up energy for the day ahead) and mind and mood-boosting REM sleep are particularly important. You can ensure you get more deep sleep by avoiding alcohol, nicotine, and being woken during the night by noise or light. While improving your overall sleep will increase REM sleep, you can also try sleeping an extra 30 minutes to an hour in the morning when REM sleep stages are longer.

 

The effects of Sleep Deprivation on the skin:

Worsens Existing Skin Conditions

Increased inflammatory response shows up as increased acne breakouts, increased skin sensitivity, increased allergic contact dermatitis reactions, and increased irritant dermatitis — and more severe conditions mean more treatment and skincare.

 

Makes Immune-Related Skin Problems Worse

Inflammation in the body throws off the body's ability to regulate the immune system, which leads not only to getting sick more often but also to flares of immune-related skin diseases such as psoriasis and eczema. Psoriasis is not just a skin disease; it's also an indicator of body inflammation. Many people with severe psoriasis have an increased risk of heart attacks, which is even more reason to keep stress low and get good quality sleep. Accelerates the Aging Process. During deep sleep, the rise in growth hormones allows damaged cells to become repaired. Without the deeper phases of sleep, this won't occur, allowing daily small breakdowns to accumulate instead of being reversed overnight. This results in more noticeable signs of ageing.

 

Contributes to Weight Gain

Sleep also helps with weight management, which is good for your skin. Sleep makes you feel less hungry; recent studies have linked sleep deprivation to excess snacking and calorie consumption. This is because lack of sleep leads to an imbalance of appetite-regulating hormones, causing you to eat more.

 

The Final Verdict

We spend a lot of money on cosmetics and other beauty products but don't use the freely available resources for better skin conditions. We spend tons on laser treatments but still don't sleep for proper amounts of time. Sleep is not just about having a better-looking skin as this comes secondary to mental and physical health. So, sleep tight and stay healthy.

Here are a few tips before you leave:

• Don't eat a big meal too late in the day.
• Drink plenty of water throughout the day, but not late at night.
• Sleep under a warm blanket in a cool, dark, quiet room.
• Keep electronics out of the bedroom.
• Use breathable cotton sheets and wash them regularly, so they don't collect dust mites and bacteria.
• Use laundry detergents that don't have strong fragrances, which can be irritating to skin.