Is lack of sleep ruining your skin

Your granny was right when she told you to get your beauty sleep. Did you know lack of sleep can take its toll on your skin?

I suffered terribly with insomnia just recently, operating on 2-3 hours of sleep per night, sometimes none at all. I had a lot of stress in my life at that time and this was a major trigger. Not only did I wake up feeling fuzzy, sick and exhausted, but my skin suffered throughout that time.

When you miss out on adequate sleep, the stress hormone cortisol increases within the body and sends everything out of whack.

Effects of high cortisol levels on the skin

1. Inflammation contributes to broken capillaries as well as breaking down proteins responsible for keeping skin radiant and smooth.
2. Altering sebum production; increasing the chance of acne and congestion.
3. Increasing transepidermal water loss (TEWL) leading to dehydration as well as fine lines.
4. Decreased blood flow around the eyes caused by dilated blood vessels, leading to puffiness and dark circles.

8 top tips to help you get a restful night’s sleep

1. Exercise early; while exercise is great at tiring you, exercising close to bedtime is not ideal as it gets the happy high endorphins flowing. Its best to exercise in the morning.
2. Limit your food intake at night; have a light meal at dinner and try to eat 3 hours before sleeping. Going to bed on a big full tummy makes it hard to relax.
3. Set your phone to night mode (yellow light) from 5pm until 7am. This helped me massively!
4. Get some comfy bedding that makes you feel as though your sleeping on a cloud. This can have a positive effect on the way you feel about going to bed.
5. Stay hydrated throughout the day but limit your water intake before bed, meaning no need to get up throughout the night.
6. Cut out as much sugar as possible. Sugar is extremely inflammatory and causes a spike in blood sugar. Not great right before bedtime!
7. Dont go to bed until your feeling sleepy and try to aim for a similar time every night. Routine is everything when it comes to better sleep.
8. Lay off the alcohol. For those of you having a wine every night after work with dinner; did you know that avoiding grog gives you 6-8 cycles of deep sleep as compared to only 1-2 with that nightly glass of wine.

 

By Alyse Francois