Effect of Sleep on Skin — What Does it Really Do?

Is there an effect of sleep on skin? It is no surprise that sleep has an effect on the brain… but what about the skin? Does quantity or quality of sleep really change the quality of our skin? Can we actually glow more and be acne-free because of sleep? Scientists think yes.

Sleep has an effect on every aspect of a human being. It affects the skin, the brain and the body. Most people think only the amount of sleep matters. Researchers now suggest that the most important factor might actually be the quality of sleep you get. Before we dive into how lack of sleep affects the skin, let’s discuss some ways to improve quality of sleep. 

Improve Quality of Sleep for Optimal Health

There are many things you can do to improve the quality of your sleep. For example, you can:

1. Avoid the afternoon caffeine. Caffeine stays in your system for up to 6 hours. This means that your 4pm post-work latte might not be the best idea. Trust me… we are all for coffee; latte, cappuccino, americano, we love it all. We simply suggest that maybe you make your afternoon latte a DECAF one! Decaf has the same great taste, without the detriment to your quality. 
2. Use soft, yellow light-lamps or candles 30-60 minutes before bed. Our body has a natural day-night clock. This internal clock, also known as the circadian rhythym, is affected by light. The brain will produces a sleep hormone called melatonin around the time of sleep. This hormone is triggered by darkness. Just think back to our hunter-gatherer ancestors… the setting sun and rising moon was their cue for bed. For a better quality of sleep, perhaps try using a soft-yellow light or some candles 30-60 minutes before bed time. This will allow for a heafty amount of melatonin to be produced and ensure your quality of sleep is more natural. 
3. Avoid alcohol before bed. Again… we are all for a nice glass of red wine for dinner around 6pm. The issue lies more with the 2-3 extra glasses right before bed as a way to fall asleep. When you drink alcohol to help you fall asleep, you change the cycles of sleep. Typically, after about 90 minutes of falling sleep, we enter Rapid Eye Movement sleep or REM sleep. During REM sleep, we dream and our brain has various methods in place to de-toxic itself and restore it for the next day. When we drink alcohol before bed, our brain skips this REM phase of sleep. This can often leave us feeling groggy the next morning. It can feel like we didn’t get the rest we should’ve gotten.

Lack of Sleep Effects on the Skin

Now that we’ve gone over some ways that the quality of sleep can affect our health, let’s see just what those effects are. What does a lack of quality sleep do to our skin?

1. Increases acne breakouts. Poor sleep increases stress hormones in our body. Increased stress hormones causes increased inflammation in the body. Increased inflammation causes acne breakouts on the skin. Additionally, inflammation makes the skin more sensitive.
2. Decreases collagen. Collagen in the skin is what’s responsible for the bounciness and tightness. When inflammation increases in our body because of poor sleep, collagen is broken down. Less collagen in the skin doesn’t give us the same tightness and bounce. 
3. Rapid aging. When we reach deep phases of sleep, such as REM sleep, damaged cells are repaired. If we are not getting quality sleep and reaching these deep phases, our cells suffer. If our body is not able to fix damaged cells, this shows up on the skin as rapid againg.
4.  Less moisture and plumpness. During sleep, our body does everything it can to restore balance overall. One of these things is restoring the balance of water in our skin. Less sleep means less hydrated skin. When our skin isn’t as hydrated, we don’t get that plump, glowy look we all admire.

As we can see, lack of sleep, especially quality of sleep, can be detrimental to the look of our skin. It doesn’t matter how many incredible LeClair Skincare products you use… if you aren’t taking care of yourself and having quality sleep, your skin will suffer. But let’s assume you ARE getting quality sleep… what are some products that can further exaggerate acne-free, tight, young, plump, glowing skin? Let’s take a look below. 

Healthy Sleep-filled Skin

1. For acne-free skin: Eucalyptus Tea Tree Moisurizer. This moisturizer, with its Eucalyptus and Tea Tree, is incredible for acne-prone skin. It calms inflammation. Additionally, it repairs damaged skin cells.
2. For tight, bouncy skin: Ester-C Collagen Moisturizer. This moisturizer provides the skin with collagen for that much-needed elasticity. It is a potent healer of fine lines and wrinkles. 
3. For young-looking skin: Hyaluronic Acid Serum. This powerful anti-aging serum binds moisturize in the skin like no other. Hydrated skin makes for young skin.
4. For plump, glowing skin: Mango Butter Mask. This mask, with Mango and Cupuacu Butter, deeply soothes and replenishes the skin. It wil undoubtedly make your skin look radiant.

Organic LeClair Skincare

In conclusion, we can now see how much sleep has an effect on our skin. Not only the amount of sleep matters, but the quality does as well. At LeClair Skincare we pride ourselves on the use of all of our skin care products being all-natural. We ensure that all of our products are vegan and cruelty free. Visit one of our local spasto experience the power of our products. We offer incredible massages and facials.