The myth of “beauty sleep” might not be a myth after all. Interestingly enough, the amount of time you spend catching Zzs at night does more than just determine how alert or awake you feel in the morning. It can also have a huge impact on your skin, its health, and its appearance.
what happens to your skin if you don’t get enough sleep?
breakouts
A lack of sleep has been proven to promote stress in the body, which can cause a spike in a hormone called cortisol. Increased cortisol can promote inflammation and cause skin to produce more sebum and oil than usual, resulting in clogged pores and breakouts.
While you sleep, your body’s cortisol levels naturally decrease, and not getting enough rest can disrupt that process. If you haven’t been getting enough sleep and find yourself breaking out, there is most likely a correlation there.
Of course, if you do find yourself dealing with a lack-of-sleep zit or breakout, you can always work on diminishing the blemish with a spot treatment like our turmeric tonic or turmeric mask stick.
dullness
While you snooze, your body boosts blood flow to your skin, which is what gives it that flushed, rosy, radiant look when you wake up. If you’re not giving your skin and body enough time to do this, your skin might appear dull, lifeless, or tired-looking as a result.
dark circles and under eye bags
When a lack of sleep causes your skin to appear more dull, the tissues and blood vessels beneath the thin skin under your eyes might also appear more prominent. A lack of sleep can also cause the blood vessels around your eyes to dilate, darkening the appearance of the skin.
Additionally, while you sleep, your body works on redistributing fluids; if you’re not sleeping enough, you might experience a buildup of fluid under your eyes; aka, puffiness and under eye bags.
While the best way to deal with these issues is simply to get sleep, you can also turn to our mymatcha all-over moisture stick - the antioxidant-rich matcha in our formula will help reduce the look of dark circles and puffiness while also hydrating the delicate skin.
dryness
A lack of sleep can also upset your skin’s natural moisture balances, leaving skin drier and rougher. Your body perspires more while you sleep, which helps rebalance hydration levels in the skin. If you’re missing out on these rebalancing hours, your skin can become way more prone to dryness, dehydration, and redness, and fine lines and wrinkles may appear more prominent.
what can you do to ensure that you’re getting enough good sleep?
Listening to your body, getting it on a consistent schedule, and learning to rest when it wants you to are key to getting a great night’s sleep and feeling balanced and energized in the morning. Here are a few strategies we suggest.
set a schedule
Do your best to go to sleep and wake up at the same time every day - even on the weekends! Keeping your sleep schedule consistent will help you stay in tune with your circadian rhythm, or your body’s internal clock, as it will naturally tell your body when it’s time to feel awake and when it’s time to feel tired.
set an alarm
Not only to wake up, but to remind you to wind down and start getting ready for bed! Try to do this around the same time every night.
nap mindfully
We all do it sometimes and that’s okay! If you decide to nap, just make sure to limit yourself to 25 minutes or less - that way you won’t overdo it and have a hard time sleeping at night.
keep your bedroom dark
Sunlight and bright light suppress melatonin production and signal to your body that it’s time to be awake and alert. That’s why we recommend trying to keep your bedroom as dark as possible! Make sure to shut your curtains or blinds or use a sleep mask, so that the morning light won’t wake you up too early.
we hope you found this helpful! for more skin education, skincare tips, and tutorials, make sure to sign up for our emails below!
