The Benefits Of Sleep For Skin

We know the obvious signs of poor sleep - panda-like bags, pale and dehydrated skin, but did you know about the less obvious? Sleep deprivation affects wound healing, collagen growth, skin hydration, and skin texture. Inflammation is also higher in those that are sleep-deprived, causing outbreaks of acne, eczema, psoriasis, and skin allergies.

If you think you have a crazy schedule, your skin is even busier. During the day, skin actively fights off invaders while defending and naturalising unstable molecules. At night, it switches from protection mode to repair mode.

Sleep is the body’s time to send fresh cells to the epidermis, replacing old and damaged cells. The experts say we should be aiming for seven to nine hours each night to give the body enough time to rest, de-stress and to fix wear and tear. If you're not getting that,here is what's happening to your skin:

1. Your skin becomes imbalanced, leading to a dehydrated complexion and redness.

Lack of sleep affects the moisture levels in your skin, ultimately impacting your pH levels - when these drop, they create an imbalance and cause the skin to not be able to produce the moisture it needs, so it makes it look drier. This is why your skin looks less youthful and has less of a glow. It can also create unnecessary redness, leaving your skin uneven and even trigger breakouts.

2. You're going to have dark circles under your eyes.

As you sleep, your body's cells regenerate, especially at skin level. Burning the candle at both ends is the no. 1 reason your blood vessels dilate, which leads to dark circles. Getting enough sleep keeps everything operating how it should and will help reduce the blue or purple shadow under your eyes. Pulled an all-nighter and need to conceal these trouble spots stat? Try an eye cream that works with your skin elasticity - it'll help fight the bags and crows feet to keep skin feeling soft, smooth and healthy.

3. You’re speeding up the ageing process

When you miss out on quality sleep, it applies stress directly to the body and impacts the integrity of collagen in the skin. An essential ingredient in the elasticity and structure of the skin, when collagen is broken down it shows more noticeable signs of aging by becoming thinner and less firm. When skin is thin its appearance is less smooth and subtle and showcases wrinkling more prominently - yikes!

While you can slather on moisturisers, serums and retinol, there’s no better cure than a good nights sleep!

Sometimes all you need is just a little bit of help to get that much-needed, skin repairing sleep. This is why we’ve combined all of the current scientific information available on sleep to create the ultimate sleep assistant - the Magnesium Sleep Lotion ($34.95). With calming lavender and chamomile properties, combined with the amazing benefits of magnesium, you’ll be well on your way to a deeper (and skin repairing) slumber in no time at all.

Check out more of our top sleep tips here.