During the night, your body repairs itself from the damage it experiences during the day and recovers from inflammation. The National Sleep Foundation recommends the average adult rest for seven to nine hours a night because when you don't rest enough, your skin can experience dryness, develop wrinkles, and lose its elasticity.
You probably know that sleep is essential for your overall wellbeing and health, but what you may find surprising is that it can also impact your skin. Because no UV rays and facial muscles contracting, night-time sleep is the best time to enhance your skin's health. During the night, your skin goes into the repair and restore modus, replacing dead cells with new ones, repairing cell and DNA damage caused by external factors, and removing toxins from tissues. When you cut down the amount of sleep, your skin is the first to show exhaustion signs like dark circles under your eyes, changed skin texture, and fine lines and wrinkles because of dryness.
Paying attention to your night-time routine can improve your skin health. But first, let's find out what bedtime habits are bad for your skin health.
What night-time habits ruin your skin?
Skipping washing
The number one mistake is going to bed without washing your face. Even when you wear no makeup, you should still wash your face before going to bed because the skin is going through the repairing and rebuilding mode during sleep, and debris and dust can clog the pores and trigger skin conditions like acne.
When you wear makeup, it can clog the pores and cause whiteheads and blackheads. Sleeping with your makeup on (especially eye makeup) can cause inflammation and irritation. By removing makeup and washing your face, you boost the night-time skincare products' effect.
Not changing the bed sheets regularly
Sleeping on the same bed sheet every night can expose your skin to lousy stuff like sloughed-off skin, sweat, and bacteria. It's best to change the bedsheets weekly and even more often when you suffer from skin issues. Dermatologists state that changing your bedsheets once a week is the secret to maintaining your skin young.
Skipping moisturizer
Moisturizer is good for every skin type, not just for people with dry or sensitive skin. Even if you have oily or acne-prone skin, you should use moisturizing products because they contain ingredients that help your skin looking dewy and healthy. Identify the type of skin you have and use moisturizing products with a formulation made for you.
Overcleaning your skin
Sometimes too much of something can damage your skin's health. Some people over-cleanse their skin, destroying the natural moisture barrier and microbiome that create the skin's protective layer. When you remove the skin's natural protective layer, you leave it exposed to bacteria that can cause breakouts and infections. Washing with too hot water can dehydrate your skin, so keep the shower temperature on the warm side.
The room is too warm
A too warm sleeping environment can be bad for your skin and sleep quality because the human body is made to rest better at a lower temperature. Keep the room temperature cool at night to boost skin health.
What sleep habits improve your skin?
Sleep on your back
Even if you find it hard to believe, you move quite a bit in your sleep. When you go to bed on your stomach, you create friction between your face and the bedsheets that can irritate your skin and cause acne or other skin health issues. Also, if you sleep on your face for long periods of time you can cause wrinkles to develop faster than they'd normally do. Sleeping on your back allows your skin cells to relax and breathe without putting unnecessary weight or friction on them. When you sleep on your back, you allow your lungs to breathe better and your spine rest in a comfortable position.
Dress sleepwear made from high-quality fabric
When it comes to the best fabric for sleepwear and loungewear, there are a lot of things to consider. Do you want to stay cool or warm? Do you prefer a gown or shirt and pants? You can easily overlook how the fabric of your clothes can affect your skin while you sleep. You're going to wear those clothes for at least seven hours a night, so you need something that allows your skin to breathe, repair, and recover.
Even some experts recommend sleeping in the nude; clothes have numerous benefits like keeping your body comfortable and warm during the night. Sleepwear and loungewear Canada suppliers provide clothing made from high-quality fabrics that protect your skin from cold and boost hygiene.
Place a humidifier close to the bed
Sleep can quickly dry out your skin because you spend over seven hours without drinking any water. When you wake up in the morning, your skin is dehydrated, and you're thirsty. This is because of the transepidermal water loss your body experiences during the night. Transepidermal water loss happens when water evaporates from the surface of your skin when you sleep. Drinking water during the day can limit dehydration, but if you want to optimize your overall skin's health, you should use a humidifier during the night to maintain moisture in the epidermis.
Use high-thread-count cotton sheets
It's well-known that high-quality sheets have many skin benefits because they prevent ageing and wrinkles. The skin wraps against the bedsheets during the night, and friction can leave numerous folds and wrinkles on your skin. Even if you can find a huge range of bed sheets on the market, those with over 800 threads are the best. The more threads the sheets have, the better they are for your skin. If you afford it, splurge on silk sheets because they provide the best slip between your skin and the bedding.
Now you know how sleep can ruin or improve your skin's health. Try to avoid the mistakes listed above, and you'll notice how your skin regains its glow.
*Image source https://unsplash.com/photos/Xsh8DS8ExU4
