How to Prevent and Fight Wrinkles While You Sleep
We spend over one-third of our life sleeping (or at least, you should). With so much time spent snoozing, wouldn’t it be great if we could fight the aging process overnight? Well, it turns out that “beauty sleep” doesn’t have to be only a turn of phrase.
By following this advice as outlined by Etre Cosmetic Dermatology & Laser Center, you can combat wrinkles in your sleep.
Can Sleep Cause Wrinkles?
Sleeping is key to looking our best. Without enough sleep, we look tired, with bags under our bloodshot eyes, sunken skin, and a bad mood. However, many of us sleep in ways that encourage the formation of fine lines and wrinkles.
If you sleep on your side or on your stomach, with your face sliding across cotton pillowcases, then yes, this can contribute to wrinkles.
Applying constant, repeated pressure to your skin causes it to lose collagen and elasticity, which leads to premature deep sleep-related lines and wrinkles, particularly on your forehead and cheeks. If you don’t enjoy sleeping like Dracula (although sleeping on your back is an excellent way to prevent unnecessary wear and tear on your skin), follow this advice to change sleeping from a time of wrinkle formation to a time of youth restoration.
Treat Yourself With Silk or Satin
By upgrading your bedsheets, you can reduce the friction caused by sleeping face-down by using soft, flowing fabrics. When you reduce the traction between your skin and the material, you solve the problem of prematurely reducing the collagen and elasticity of your facial skin because you remove the tension. And silk is incredibly comfortable and smooth to the touch.
Get a Special Pillow
Here, you have numerous options. You can get ergonomic, silk-covered pillows that help keep your skin moist, clean, and frictionless during sleep, all of which will drastically reduce the formation of fine lines, but these can be pretty pricey.
If you don’t have problems falling asleep on your back, but find yourself struggling to stay face-up as you sleep, you can use a cheap travel pillow to support your neck as you sleep and prevent yourself from turning onto your side.
Use Night Cream
If you’re going to choose this option, it is a good idea to do so in conjunction with either sleeping on your back or using a travel cushion to ensure you don’t roll over in the night and smear the thick lotion all over your bedding.
Night creams are thicker moisturizers that are too heavy to use during the day. During the night, they are ideal for restoring and trapping moisture (not oil) in your skin. The best night creams contain hyaluronic acid, which helps keep your skin firm and plump.
Try Retinol
When alternated with a night cream, retinol cream is one of the most potent anti-aging tricks in the book. Retinol, which derives from vitamin A, promotes collagen production in your skin. As we know, collagen is the compound responsible for giving youthful skin its taut, firm structure.
By encouraging collagen production overnight, retinol helps your body naturally maintain high levels of collagen production, thus decreasing the formation of fine lines and wrinkles as you sleep.
Get Plenty of Rest
Depending on your activity levels, health experts recommend anywhere between eight to 10 hours of sleep. We are only just beginning to better understand the intricacies of sleeping and its effects on brain function, decision-making, and mental health. However, people have known for millennia that sleep-deprived individuals never look their best.
One of the secrets to getting a good night’s sleep is to wake up early, perhaps even with the sun. When you do this, your body is ready to power down at 9:30 p.m. the following evening and start the cycle again.
Putting your smartphone outside your bedroom, in the kitchen or the living room, also helps you get an undisturbed night’s sleep, and promotes a healthy morning routine where the first thing you do in your day is not checking emails and social media. Believe it or not, doing this as you sleep will help keep wrinkles away in the long run.
Next Steps
How we sleep is so essential for our daily appearance and function. By following these simple tips, you can use the time your body recharges as a chance to nurture and heal your skin too. Contact us at Etre Cosmetic Dermatology & Laser Center to learn more about anti-aging procedures, including fillers and injectables.