How sleep affected our skin?

We do so much to make our skin look great in the morning. Our bathroom counters are cluttered with everything from 10-step skincare to Fenty foundation, or the most recent Amazon haul from clean beauty brands.

But what if one of the biggest secrets to better skin was as simple as laying down and taking a nap? After all, our body never stops working — especially when we’re asleep. Sleep is when some of the most important internal — and epidermal — recovery takes place!

While you shouldn’t fully abandon your daytime skincare routine in favour of getting more Zzz’s, there are some easy ways to amp your skin-sleep relationship for morning results.

How sleep affects your skin

You can almost immediately tell that getting a poor night of sleep doesn’t do woke-up-like-this wonders for your face. Research even says that one night of poor sleep can cause:

• hanging eyelids
• swollen eyes
• darker undereye circles
• paler skin
• more wrinkles and fine lines
• more droopy corners of the mouth

A 2017 study found that two days of sleep restriction negatively affected participant’s perceived attractiveness, health, sleepiness, and trustworthiness.

So, what seems like an overnight issue could transform into something more permanent.

First and foremost, you should understand that sleep is the time when your body repairs itself. This is true for your epidermis as much as it is for your brain or your muscles. During sleep, your skin’s blood flow increases, and the organ rebuilds its collagen and repairs damage from UV exposure, reducing wrinkles and age spots.