Good sleep is great for skin and well-ageing

​​We all know the fairy tail sleeping beauty, however there is actual scientific evidence supporting that good sleep does make you more attractive.

Chronic poor sleep quality is associated with increased signs of intrinsic ageing, diminished skin barrier function, lower satisfaction with appearance (1). 

A variety of studies in the literature have shown that sleep plays a role in restoring immune system function and that changes in the immune response may affect collagen production. (2)

Before going into the science supporting that sleep makes you more beautiful, some tips for better sleep and less wrinkles:

• Have a routine. Go to bed at a similar time each night and get up at the same time each morning, including on the weekends. It helps to have a skin care routine! Read more
• Make sure your bedroom is quiet, dark, relaxing, and at a comfortable temperature
• Remove electronic devices, such as TVs, computers, and smart phones, from the bedroom
• Avoid large meals, caffeine, and alcohol before bedtime
• Get some exercise. Being physically active during the day can help you fall asleep more easily at night.
• Sleep on your back. Side sleeping causes "compression wrinkles" in face and décolletage. When you are young, they disappear, but when you are more mature, they become more permanent.
• If you sleep in the side, sleep on a silk pillow cover. Silk’s slippery surface reduces friction on the skin (and hair), and thus reduces the risk of facial wrinkles and morning creases that other fabrics might cause when you sleep on your side or face. 

A study was conducted with 60 healthy caucasian women, who were categorised as poor quality sleepers [Pittsburg Sleep Quality Index (PSQI) > 5, sleep duration ≤ 5 h] or good quality sleepers (PSQI ≤ 5, sleep duration 7-9 h. Good sleepers had significantly lower intrinsic skin ageing scores by SCINEXA(TM) . At baseline, poor sleepers had significantly higher levels of TEWL (trans-epidermal water loss). At 72 h after tape stripping, good sleepers had 30% greater barrier recovery compared with poor sleepers. At 24 h after exposure to ultraviolet light, good sleepers had significantly better recovery from erythema (redness). Good sleepers also reported a significantly better perception of their appearance and physical attractiveness compared with poor sleepers. (1)

Sleep loss could also impact sexual behaviour and collaboration, because sleep is connected with attractiveness, which has an important impact in many social contexts (2). The notion of beauty sleep is actually very important, because sleep deprived people are perceived as more fatigued, less attractive, and even less healthy than when they are rested (3). Sleep deprivation is associated with increased signs of intrinsic skin ageing (fine lines, uneven pigmentation, reduced elasticity) (4), with much slower recovery rates after skin barrier disruption and lower satisfaction with appearance. If we compare people with a normal night sleep with the same persons but sleep deprived, the sleep deprived ones look more fatigued, with hanging eyelids, redder eyes, more swollen eyes, darker circles under the eyes, paler skin, more wrinkles and fine lines around the eyes, the corners of the mouth as being more droopy and more sad (5). 

In conclusion, the sleep is not connected only with good health (6,7), but is also a link between attractiveness and health. (2,8)


Take care and sleep well

1. Does poor sleep quality affect skin ageing? P Ovetakin-White, A Suggs, B Koo, M S Matsul, D Yarosh, K D Cooper, E D Baron, 2015.
2. Medical Hypotheses Volume 75, Issue 6, December 2010, Pages 535-537 Can poor sleep affect skin integrity? V. Kahan et al.
3. Rhodes G. - The evolutionary psychology of facial beauty. Annu Rev Psychol. 2006;57:199–226. 
4. Axelsson J, Sundelin T, Ingre M, Van Someren EJ, Olsson A, Lekander M. - Beauty sleep: experimental study on the perceived health and att ractiveness of sleep deprived people. BMJ. 2010;341:c6614. 
5. Oyetakin-White P, Koo B, Matsui M, Yarosh D, Fthenakis C, Cooper K, Baron E. - Effects of Sleep Quality on Skin Aging and Function. J Invest Dermatol. 2013; :S126–S126. 
6. Sundelin T, Lekander M, Kecklund G, Van Someren EJW, Olsson A, Axelsson J. - Cues of fatigue: eff ects of sleep deprivation on facial appearance. SLEEP. 2013;9:1355–1360. 
7. Bryant PA, Trinder J, Curtis N. - Sick and tired: does sleep have a vital role in the immune system. Nat Rev Immunol. 2004;4:457–467. 
8. Horne J. - Why we sleep—the functions of sleep in humans and other mammals. Oxford University Press. 1988;23:15–17. 
9. Maedica (Bucur). 2017 Sep; 12(3): 191–201. Perceived Age and Life Style. The Specific Contributions of Seven Factors Involved in Health and Beauty, Victor Gabriel CLATICI et al.

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