“Feelings of emotional distress lead to the release of a stress hormone (cortisol) which delays healing, disrupts the skin’s natural barrier and affects the immune system, making it less able to defend itself.” From red, dry and itchy skin to lines, wrinkles, pigmentation and dullness, difficult feelings can lead to skin that doesn’t function – or look – at its best.”
Reflecting this, Google trends found a year-on-year rise of 83% for searches for ‘acne’, 50% for searches for ‘spots’, and 81% for ‘skincare for acne’. From this, we can conclude that the stress of COVID, and lockdown, is clearly a major reason for this negative impact on people’s skin.
Dormeo are experts in sleep and would love to share their tips with The Beauty Store readers, with expert advice ranging from how much you should sleep to the type of pillowcases you should be sleeping on.
Sleep your way closer to your skin goals
The last year has been hard on a lot of us for several unprecedented reasons, and the stress and anxiety of that will undoubtedly have heavily impacted our skin. It’s clear many have invested in a good skincare routine, with searches for skincare increasing 123%, according to SEO Monitor. However, how many of us have given the impact of our sleep regime any thought?
We are all aware of the old age concept of ‘beauty sleep’, which is no myth as studies have proven that getting your 8 hours of sleep is not only beneficial to your overall health, but also your skin in particular. As a result, Dormeo’s sleep expert Phil Lawlor has put together 4 sleep habits that will make your skin glow!
1. Practice good sleep hygiene
We all know how lack of sleep can cause damage to the skin in various forms. These damages are not just from one night of bad sleep, but this is a result of continuous bad sleep. The effects lack of sleep include:
Dark circles – this is caused by an increase in cortisol levels, also known as the ‘stress hormone’. This is produced when the body is tired.
Swollen blood vessels – the increased cortisol levels also effect the increased volume of blood, including the blood vessels under the eyes, alongside enhanced oil production that can lead to breakouts.
Skin puffiness – lack of sleep doesn’t give the skin the chance to rest and repair. This creates puffiness, especially around the eyes and lack of sleep can lead to loss of elasticity and wrinkles.
As a result it’s important to invest your time in good sleep hygiene. Follow a Nightly Routine to ensure you put yourself in the best position to sleep well each and every night.
2. Use silk or high thread count cotton pillows/sheets
Health Line have found that silk pillowcases help to keep the skin more hydrated in comparison to cotton, the latter absorbs in a lot of moisture. As silk pillowcases absorb less moisture and dirt, when you wake up in the morning your skin and hair won’t be as dry in comparison to using cotton pillowcases. Silk pillowcases also provide a clean sleep area and lessen the amount of friction caused, thus preventing skin or hair irritation and damage.
Alongside this, dermatologists believe silk lessens the chances of lines and wrinkles to the face according to Allure.
In order to get the best night’s sleep, it is also important to bed down in high quality sheets. High thread count sheets are gentler on the skin as they are more breathable and allow your skin to move easily around the material as you rest. When looking for new sheets with a higher thread count, keep an eye out for any in the range of 200-800.
3. Add a humidifier next to you
When we wake up in the mornings, our skin is at its most dehydrated stage due to the water loss overnight. One way to overcome this is to use humidifiers as they can boost sleep naturally, keeping the skin hydrated by providing moist air whilst sleeping. During the colder months simply using creams for your skin may not be enough due to the cold dry air and the use of a humidifier can help a damaged skin barrier to retain moisture.
Due to the moist air provided by the humidifiers, they are also beneficial to the scalp as they can prevent it from becoming dry and irritated. With our hair being made from collagen, it needs a moisture to retain a healthy appearance, meaning humidifiers can also give your hair a boost!
Need a quick moisture boost before your humidifier arrives, try our Oh K! Overnight Hydrarion Sleep Mask
4. Sleep on your back, not your side
The best position to maintain your skin’s appearance is on your back. This is because when we sleep on our front or side, our face can press against the pillow which leads to face creasing and wrinkles.
Not only this, but sleeping on your front can also lead to swelling, as stated in Self, “Sleeping on your stomach not only causes back pain, but leads to wrinkles as well,”. As your face is directly on the pillows, this can cause friction to the skin and even cause prominent forehead lines, damage that retinol and other strong skincare ingredients isn’t even able to fix.
We are sure these 4 sleep habits, will be helpful to you and your skincare journey. A good night’s sleep can help to rest and repair your skin by producing collagen as you sleep, and that is why we recommend a good 8 hours of sleep a night as the best possible skincare tactic!
About Dormeo
Dormeo have 15 years of experience in the sleep industry. Dormeo brings top quality Italian-designed, European-made memory foam mattresses direct to people’s homes and is one of Europe’s most trusted bedding brands. Their innovating technology is award winning and has been recognised by the aviation industry and their products are sold in 40 countries worldwide.
About the Author
Phil Lawlor has spent 3 years with Dormeo, and 7 further years in the sleep industry. He’s spent a lot of time hands-on with suppliers and factories over the past 10 years and believes there’s no better way to get acquainted with new materials, developments and products than in the flesh rather than behind a screen or on paper. Phil has a passion for products in the industry and understands the importance of testing, craftsmenship and technology. He has previously been featured in several industry publications such as Furniture news and Interiors Monthly and his expertise has been shared across national newspapers.
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