Sleep deprivation
may lead to a slew of health complications — from shrinking the brain
to raising the risk of anxiety and depression to weight gain to
weakening the immune system.
It turns out that lack of shut-eye is also skin-deep: it could affect the way we look and the health of our body’s largest organ – the skin. Perhaps it’s called
beauty sleep for a reason. While we may think that our appearance only becomes sallow and tired after long periods of little sleep, recent research from the Sleep School of London and popular bed company Bensons for Beds showed that even getting two hours less than the suggested amount of sleep for a week may cause bigger pores, more wrinkles, and more visible red and brown spots on our faces.
The two institutions analyzed the skin of 30 women across the United Kingdom, including a supermodel, after one night of a full eight hours of sleep and after five nights of six hours of sleep.
What they found was surprising to say the least. Fine lines and wrinkles had increased in number by 45% after five nights of skipping two hours of sleep. Spots on the face increased in number by 13% and were more visible by 7%. Red areas increased by 8% and were more visible by 5% and bacteria on the skin increased by 16%.
The women also reported significantly lower levels of self-esteem and said they felt much less attractive after the shorter nights’ rest.
Other studies have shown similar results. A 2013 study published in Sleep found that sleep-deprived individuals had more hanging eyelids, redder eyes, paler skin, more wrinkles, droopy corners of the mouth, and even looked sadder than when they were getting enough sleep.
A main culprit here is cortisol, one of our key stress hormones, that blocks the production of collagen, a protein that repairs skin, when we don’t get enough shut-eye. A lot of our collagen is produced when we sleep, creating that healthy glow we all crave.
“Sleep is a time for the body to heal, renew and eliminate toxins from the skin. When sleep is reduced, so is the body’s ability to carry out these functions,” said Dr. Guy Meadows, founder of the Sleep School in London.
Rest may be just as important as makeup, moisturizing creams and anti-aging lotions since it can naturally rejuvenate our skin.
And yet lack of sleep is a fast-spreading epidemic, with 30% of American adults reportedly sleeping an average of six hours or less every night. “The reality is many people are sleeping in this manner for weeks, months and even years, leading to long-term consequences for their looks and how they feel about themselves,” added Dr. Meadows. “This work shows that by just making sleep a priority, you could see a noticeable impact on not only skin but on physical and emotional health.”
Instead of spending hundreds on makeup and beauty products, sleep more and your body will create the beauty for itself.
It turns out that lack of shut-eye is also skin-deep: it could affect the way we look and the health of our body’s largest organ – the skin. Perhaps it’s called
beauty sleep for a reason. While we may think that our appearance only becomes sallow and tired after long periods of little sleep, recent research from the Sleep School of London and popular bed company Bensons for Beds showed that even getting two hours less than the suggested amount of sleep for a week may cause bigger pores, more wrinkles, and more visible red and brown spots on our faces.
The two institutions analyzed the skin of 30 women across the United Kingdom, including a supermodel, after one night of a full eight hours of sleep and after five nights of six hours of sleep.
What they found was surprising to say the least. Fine lines and wrinkles had increased in number by 45% after five nights of skipping two hours of sleep. Spots on the face increased in number by 13% and were more visible by 7%. Red areas increased by 8% and were more visible by 5% and bacteria on the skin increased by 16%.
The women also reported significantly lower levels of self-esteem and said they felt much less attractive after the shorter nights’ rest.
Other studies have shown similar results. A 2013 study published in Sleep found that sleep-deprived individuals had more hanging eyelids, redder eyes, paler skin, more wrinkles, droopy corners of the mouth, and even looked sadder than when they were getting enough sleep.
A main culprit here is cortisol, one of our key stress hormones, that blocks the production of collagen, a protein that repairs skin, when we don’t get enough shut-eye. A lot of our collagen is produced when we sleep, creating that healthy glow we all crave.
“Sleep is a time for the body to heal, renew and eliminate toxins from the skin. When sleep is reduced, so is the body’s ability to carry out these functions,” said Dr. Guy Meadows, founder of the Sleep School in London.
Rest may be just as important as makeup, moisturizing creams and anti-aging lotions since it can naturally rejuvenate our skin.
And yet lack of sleep is a fast-spreading epidemic, with 30% of American adults reportedly sleeping an average of six hours or less every night. “The reality is many people are sleeping in this manner for weeks, months and even years, leading to long-term consequences for their looks and how they feel about themselves,” added Dr. Meadows. “This work shows that by just making sleep a priority, you could see a noticeable impact on not only skin but on physical and emotional health.”
Instead of spending hundreds on makeup and beauty products, sleep more and your body will create the beauty for itself.
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