What Your Skin Gets Up To While You're Sleeping

While we sleep, our body gets busy; healing and repairing itself before the dawn of a new day. Circulation and oxygen flow increases which helps to deliver nutrients and also remove waste. The body also produces important hormones. When we don’t sleep enough or we sleep badly, it isn’t able to produce enough estrogen and instead, produces too much cortisol, known as the stress hormone.  This can accelerate the breakdown of Collagen and impact your skin’s texture, density, and elasticity, ushering in the signs of premature ageing like visible lines and wrinkles.

P.S. All of which can be made worse by sleeping on your side or your stomach.

Aside from a range of side effects like puffiness, dullness and dehydration, a lack of quality sleep will also increase the tendency for reactive skin conditions as the immune cells will not function at their best which will in turn affect the skin’s natural barrier protection. And if the barrier function becomes impaired, it can leave skin susceptible to conditions such as eczema and dermatitis, acne breakouts, and dehydration. 

Supporting your skin to function at its very best starts with ensuring you develop healthy and consistent sleep patterns. Here are a few ways in which you can support your skin:

Establish a Sleep Ritual

Good quality sleep patterns are a must for your body – and your skin – to be its best self. Yet getting a restful, 8-hour sleep is not all that easy for some, especially if you’re prone to stress, anxiety, or of course, insomnia. Establishing a nightly ritual – and sticking to it – can help to prepare your mind and body to power down and encourage sleep. A few healthy sleep suggestions:

• Use dimmed lighting or lamps in your bedroom to set the scene for sleep

• Try and preserve your sleeping space as a screen-free zone (no TV, iPad, kindle, or phone) and avoid working on your laptop on your bed if possible

• Burning essential oils like Lavender, Chamomile, or Valerian in your bedroom can help to relax your mind. If you don’t have an oil burner, rub a few drops to your palms and take some deep breaths

• Use a silk pillow slip or eye mask to cushion your skin and help prevent sheet masks. Over time, lying on your side on one side of your face or sleeping on your stomach can create static lines that become wrinkles

Set Your Skin to Repair Mode

At night, your skin does a stocktake of sorts; dealing with the damage of the day and repairing the skin’s barrier function to protect against future assaults. Using skincare that’s fortified with powerful botanicals like Vitamin A and potent antioxidants to fight free radicals will help to up its rejuvenating powers and press pause on premature ageing. And during those times when decent sleep just isn’t possible, corrective skincare can help to minimize the toll it takes on your skin.

A concentrated, vitamin-rich serum like our Rejuvenate 15 Serum can help to introduce powerful actives like antioxidant Resveratrol, Copper, minerals and peptides. This revitalizing serum fortifies skin cells, boosts elasticity and firmness, and strengthens your skin’s natural resilience against premature-ageing triggers like UV and free-radical exposure and environmental protection.
SKINTEL: Try spritzing Multi-Active Mist before you apply Rejuvenate 15 Serum to help infuse Vitamins B3 and C and moisture-attracting Hyaluronic Acid into the skin.

Rehydration is another important part of the overnight repair process as your skin loses moisture throughout the day. Our Repair Balm is boosted by hydrating ceramides, Shea Butter, and  Jojoba and Kukui Nut Oils that not only reintroduce moisture into the skin but strengthen barrier protection against environmental assault and sensitivity. It really delivers the specialized TLC that sensitized skins need to help face the (next) day.

Targeting the delicate skin around the eyes and on the neck as part of your night-time routine will help to address the signs of premature ageing. Both areas are the first to experience those signs which is why a nourishing and concentrated night treatment like our Ultra Firming Eye & Neck Cream is a great investment. Synthetic peptides help to boost Collagen and soften the appearance of fine lines and crow’s feet while Caffeine helps reduce that morning-after puffiness that is a very visible side effect of a poor night’s sleep.