Getting a good nights sleep makes a major contribution to living a healthy and productive life and sleep is equally as important for healthy skin. Sleep allows the skin to restore its natural balance and increases the effectiveness of certain skin care ingredients, potentially providing more skin care benefits. If you do not get enough sleep, this immediately shows through the skin. Eyes look dark and puffy after just a single night of poor sleep and chronic sleep deprivation is particularly damaging, creating a dull, dehydrated complexion that can cause significant trouble for, especially, skin prone to acne.
Medical research shows that sleep (or lack of it) affects the skin in a variety of ways:
1. Lack of sleep leads to increased levels of stress hormones in the body. Chronic high levels of stress hormones in the body cause increased inflammation within the skin that subsequently leads to an acceleration of aging and worsening of acne.
2. Sleep deprivation reduces the skin’s ability to stay hydrated and supple leading to a dull, dehydrated appearance.
3. People with poor sleep habits can have trouble with skin sensitivity and irritation, due to a reduction in the skin’s ability to protect itself from chemicals and pollutants in the environment.
Before going to sleep, cleansing your skin at night will lessen the amount of oil on the skin, removing acne-causing bacteria, which will result in fewer blemishes. The face can be one of the dirtiest parts on your body, being subject to environmental aggressors all day and even through being constantly touched by the hands; further, bacteria thrives in oil so using the right cleanser each evening lessens the opportunities for breakouts.
Oil, dirt and makeup removal gives your skin a clean base for applying any evening performance products for maximum effectiveness. When you sleep, your skin is at rest allowing for potent ingredients such as Retinol, prescription Retinoids and Peptides to absorb deeply in the skin to accelerate the metabolism of the cells. This function is essential if you want your skin to behave and look younger a proper cleansing routine each evening makes these ingredients perform at their best.
Clean skin, of course, doesn’t dirty pillowcases and bedding. If you don’t wash your face and body at night, you are transferring a day’s worth of oil from your hair and face, as well as makeup, onto your pillowcase. If you don’t change your pillowcase daily (which most people probably do not) then all of this keeps getting added onto your skin each and every night.
Good sleep and a good cleansing routine. A perfect recipe for helping to gain clear skin.