We’ve all heard someone mention beauty sleep, but have you ever thought about if it’s more than just a saying?
While we could all learn to relax a little more from Sleeping Beauty, real-life beauty sleep looks a bit different.
So yes, beauty sleep is a real thing.
Keep reading to find out what real-life beauty sleep looks like.
What Is Beauty Sleep?
Listen, you know we don’t gatekeep around here, so we’ll tell you about a skincare secret that’s been around for a while: sleep.
Yes, you read that right; research suggests connections between the concept of beauty sleep and our skin and body health.
As we lay down for the night our body’s hardest shift starts and some of the most important internal and epidermal recovery begins.
With a balance of good-quality sleep and your regular skincare routine, you can enjoy beautiful, glowing skin for a long time.
How Does Sleep Affect Our Skin?
We’re sure you can think of a time when you had a terrible night’s sleep. How did you feel the morning after?
If you answered awful, we feel your pain. Some research even suggests that just one night of bad sleep can cause things like swollen eyes, paler skin, darker undereye bags, and wrinkles.
Sleep gives our body time to repair itself as our brain, muscles, skin, and everything else gets a chance to recuperate as we rest.
Here are some of the things going on in your body as you sleep:
- The skin’s blood flow increases
- The skin works to repair damage from UV exposure and reduce wrinkles
- Your body grows and repairs tissue
- Your body conserves and stores energy
Your skin also comes into contact with different materials as you sleep, think pillowcases and blankets, and if you’re getting seven to nine hours as recommended by Sleep Foundation, that’s a long time to be pressed up against harsh materials.
How To Get The Most Out Of Beauty Sleep
Now you can see how important sleep is for our skin, let’s look at how we can get the most out of our beauty sleep every single night.
Get a full night’s sleep
This may not be easy to hear, but you probably need to be getting more sleep. Going without the recommended amount of sleep for prolonged periods of time can lead to skin that ages quicker and skin that doesn't recover well from environmental stressors.
While we all have the odd sleepless night here and there (self-inflicted or not…we see you binging your favourite TV show late into the night…we get it), it’s important to regularly get the right amount of sleep.
It’s also interesting to note that women require just a bit more sleep than men thanks to things like hormonal changes and physical changes like pregnancy, with research suggesting they need 11 more minutes than men each night.
Wash your face before bed
As your skin and body go through their sleeping processes, you should make sure it’s all happening with clean skin.
Cleansing your face every night is crucial in making sure that the day’s product and oil build-up don’t clog your pores and lead to breakouts, enlarged pores, dry skin, and infections.
When you’re considering leaving that makeup on “just this once”, say hello to the Double Cleanse Bundle, your go-to staple for quick, effective bedtime cleansing.
Overnight skincare
Overnight skincare is just as important as daytime skincare.
Even though sleep is great for our skin, it can dry it out, especially if you sleep in a low-humidity environment.
Whilst drinking water helps to a certain extent, using overnight cream is the next step in caring for your skin as you sleep.
Our Rejuvenating Overnight Cream provides intense hydration and anti-ageing benefits for your skin while you sleep, so you can wake up feeling fresh and rejuvenated.
Invest in a better pillowcase
If you are getting the recommended amount of sleep, that means one-third of your day is spent sleeping!
While we’ve been banging on about how good that is, that’s a long time for your skin to be pressed against scratchy, uncomfortable materials like cotton. Plus, sleeping on materials like this can cause wrinkles on the face and body.
Sleeping on your back is a good solution to this, but we understand that this may not be a very comfortable fix if you’re not used to it, so looking for silk or satin pillowcases is a great suggestion, too!
Alongside these solutions, elevating your head helps combat snoring and acid reflux as you sleep, which helps to improve the quality of your sleep and, in turn, your skin. This even helps reduce the bags under your eyes by improving blood flow.
If you’re looking for a pick-me-up to combat dark circles then our Brightening Vitamin E Eye Cream is here to help!
No snoozing in the sun
Our final tip includes the sun…stick with us on this one.
While you might not make a habit of it, sleeping with your skin in direct sunlight is a big no-no.
Whether it’s by the pool on holiday, in the mornings with the sun streaming through the curtains, or during a mid-afternoon nap, sleeping in the sun can damage your skin’s health and appearance.
To avoid this, consider investing in blackout blinds or changing up your nap spot to somewhere with more cover.
The right amount of sleep and a consistent skincare routine are a recipe for great skin, so start making use of our most natural skincare secret now!