In order to live your best life, you end up sacrificing things that keep you sane, one of the important ones being sleep. Caffeine can get you through a day of little sleep, but the impact on your skin and health isn't worth it. Scientists have found that beauty sleep is a necessity as every cell in our bodies (including skin cells) use the time we’re sleeping to recuperate and regenerate. Find out why beauty sleep is so important, and some overnight treatments to boost your routine!
Sleep’s Effect on the Body
When you stay up late to make a deadline or binge through too many episodes, your body perceives this as a stressful situation and will expedite the release of cortisol. The increased presence of this stress hormone can actually lead to symptoms of stressed skin, including negative effects on the immune system and blood sugar levels. Cortisol can also compromise the collagen in our skin, which can make you look tired and lead to premature signs of aging like skin sagging, wrinkles, and fine lines. Cortisol can also cause blood vessels to constrict, which reduces the amount of oxygen and nutrients that the skin receives, making your skin look dull and sallow. Yikes!
This makes sense when you keep in mind that your skin is a physical barrier against outside irritants like UV rays, pollution, germs, makeup, etc. If you don't get proper sleep to allow your skin to regenerate and repair after working so hard to protect your insides, your skin will show the negative repercussions.
What Is Beauty Sleep & What Are the Benefits of Beauty Sleep?
At nighttime, healthy cells rise to the skin’s surface and the damage from the course of the day is repaired. The REM cycle, aka the deepest part of your sleep cycle, is when your skin regenerates to make new collagen, which prevents skin sagging. This means that less sleep = more wrinkles, drier, and duller skin! This is because when you sleep, your blood flow gives your skin a healthy glow, which is why it looks dull, sickly, and sullen without sleep. Another association with sleep deprivation are dark circles and puffy eyes. This correlation is no mistake-- the skin around your eyes is very thin, so when you lack in sleep, your blood vessels dilate, and because of that thinness of the skin under your eyes, it shows as a noticeably dark tint.
Overnight Beauty Boosters
Scientists have found that the increased blood flow during a good night's sleep is a great time to use overnight skincare products to get the best results! Here are some products we love to include in our nighttime routine:
Body Butters
Try applying a deeply moisturizing body lotion or butter to help your body feel rejuvenated and taken care of. We love the WOW Skin Science Body Butter Mango to nourish and hydrate to the deepest layers of your skin. Mango butter provides humectant properties that absorb moisture from the air, and act as a much needed barrier for the skin.
A hack is to apply a generous scoop of body butter to your feet, gently massaging your tired soles, and wearing socks overnight so you wake up with nourished, smooth soles!
Hair Oils
Another favorite to add to your nighttime routine is a hydrating hair oil! Just a few pumps is all it takes to get maximum penetration overnight, without using any heat. If you're on a hair growth journey or want to strengthen your strands, try WOW Skin Science Castor Oil to improve hair texture, minimize split ends, and soften dry hair strands. If you're looking for an ayurvedic alternate, try WOW Skin Science Onion Black Seed Hair Oil to rejuvenate your hair health and fight frizz with holistic hair staples! Just apply from the ends to your roots, brush through with a wide tooth comb, and throw into a bun while you sleep.
If you are really serious about your beauty sleep game, getting a silk pillow is a game changer. The soft fabric has less friction while you lay on it, limiting the amount of hair breakage, frizz, and face wrinkles you may see. We don't think about how the excess oil on our face and hair is on your pillow day to day, so changing and washing your pillowcases often is a good idea!
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Don't beat yourself if life is too hectic to get a good night's rest. It's important to put your health first, and now you know that lack of sleep causes stress and physical effects to your skin. It is best to work your way up to sleeping around 7 to 9 hours a night. It won’t all happen at once, especially if your body is used to waking up after a certain number of hours, but adding beauty boosters to your night routine will help set you in the mood to sleep all night long. Good luck!
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