Sleeping is good for everything. It’s enjoyable, it gives your body a chance to rest, and it gives your brain time to process everything. Another benefit of sleep (apart from it already being glorious) is that it will also help out your skin.
As someone interested in beauty, you probably already have an idea of the ‘basics’ of good skincare; drink a lot of water, eat better, exercise, and so on. All of these practices are good for your skin, but not getting enough sleep can cause more damage than you think. Rebecca S. Robbins, who is a sleep expert and a PH.D researcher at Cornell University, explains what happens while you sleep.
“During a good night’s rest, your body works to remove dead blood cells and dead brain cells, and clears the pathways for new synapses to take place so that new blood and brain cells can replace old ones,” says Robbins.
The hours that your brain is at rest are also when your skin decides to repair itself. By not being outside or doing anything active, your skin is able to heal itself and repair the damage done during the day. You need to get quality sleep for at least 8 hours a night, otherwise, your skin is suffering. It’s not being given the amount of time it needs to heal itself, which results in breakouts, redness and dry skin.
The reason your skin breaks out is because there is not enough moisture in the skin. The lack of moisture means that more bacteria and undesirable dirt can get in, which isn’t ideal. When you’re sleep deprives, the skin’s pH levels are lower than they usually are, and that’s why there’s less of a glow to your face than usual.
Another thing you might want to cut back on is alcohol, especially if you’re drinking before bedtime. Although alcohol is known for making people super drowsy, the quality of sleep that you’re getting while falling asleep is not as good as falling asleep sober. Alcohol is also a diuretic, which dehydrates your body while you are asleep.
Although it sounds like everything is bad for your skin at the moment, don’t panic. Just try to get more quality sleep, and you will be on a path to clearer skin before you know it.
