Let me get you some mind-blowing facts to enlighten you a bit today – How just missing two hours of sleep a week can make a significant change on your attractiveness and even self-esteem! When you don’t get enough sleep, it causes a stress reaction in your body. Stress results in the production of excess cortisol, the stress hormone. Cortisol blocks the production of collagen, which your body needs. Without it, your skin loses elasticity and becomes dull and dry. This is why after a long night out, you wake up to skin with larger pores, redness, and an increase in wrinkles. Don’t believe it? Keep reading.
Lack of Sleep and Your Skin
There’s research to back up the link between lack of sleep and poor skin health. Researchers worked with a test group of 30 volunteers to test the effects of not getting enough sleep. The participants first slept for 8 hours. The next day, researchers took their pictures and tested their skin with a Visia machine, which is used to measure pores, red spots, and bacteria. The volunteers also answered a survey about their well-being and self-esteem. For the next 5 nights, the women in the study slept only 6 hours a night. At the end of the time period, the researchers performed the same tests. The survey results indicated that the participants’ levels of self-esteem had decreased by 20%. They also reported feeling less attractive by 33% more than the first survey. Images from the Visia testing showed a 45% increase in wrinkles and an 8% increase in red spots. Take a look at the pictures below:
Left: 8 hours of sleep Right: 6 hours of sleep Source As you can see, the images clearly show how missing just a few hours of sleep in the week can affect your skin. That said, this study does have some drawbacks. Specifically, the researchers not only used a relatively small sample size but were paid by Benson for Beds, a mattress sales company.
Beauty Sleep for Healthy Skin
The old adage is true, “Get your beauty sleep!” The reason sleep is so important for healthy skin is that your body repairs itself while you sleep. If you don’t get the recommended 7 to 9 hours a night, your body doesn’t have enough time to do everything it needs. This can leave you looking tired, run-down, and generally unhealthy. Here are some of the things that happen while you sleep:
1. Collagen Production
It helps fill in wrinkles by plumping up your skin. Fewer wrinkles mean you look younger and healthier.
2. Increased Blood Flow
It leaves you with a beautiful, bright complexion.
3. Reduces Dark Circles Under Your Eyes
When you don’t sleep enough, the decreased blood flow tends to show under your eyes – giving you dark circles.
