How Important Is Sleep For Our Health

Ever heard of the age old adage “beauty sleep”? It is a well-known fact that the benefits of quality sleep have been documented and scientifically proven for decades.
Good quality and adequate sleep can create a positive impact on many areas of our body such as stress management, mental health, aging and strengthening the natural process of healing and repair in the body. Did you know that a good night’s sleep can also prove beneficial for your overall skin health and well-being?
Today, we will be discussing how sleep has an important correlation with the overall health of our skin and how a disturbed sleep can cause issues for the skin:

The Relationship of Your Sleeping Cycle with Your Body

Well it’s a no-brainer that our sleeping cycle is the time our body gets to heal and repair on a deeper molecular level. Sleep is beneficial to ensure the optimal functioning and vitality of our bodily systems. A well rested 8 hours of beauty sleep is not just vital for our skin, but also impacts our gut health, heart health and mental health.
A good quality 8 hours sleep can lead to lesser acne blemishes, reduce inflammation and congestion, fewer acne flare ups and a visible reduction in the signs of aging.

How Can A Poor Sleeping Cycle Negatively Affect Your Skin?

Here are a few ways poor quality sleep can negatively impact your skin health

1. The Skin Repairs Its Damage During Our Sleeping Hours

During our natural sleep cycle, the skin tends to undergo the natural process of cell turnover. In this process, new skin cells are produced from the deepest layers of the skin tissue, which slowly replaces the upper most epithelial cell layer. Dead skin cells are rapidly shed and replaced by skin cells from within. Other than cell turnover, your skin tends to produce adequate amounts of collagen, elastin and hyaluronic acid during sleep which promotes the suppleness, elasticity and overall appearance of your skin.

2. A Lack of Sleep Can Hinder the Blood Supply To The Face

Another amazing feature of your skin during those resting hours is the increased blood flow to the facial area. The sudden gush of oxygen rich blood aids in the adequate circulation of your facial skin helping to flush out all the free radicals and pollutants for a more radiant and youthful glow to the face.

3. Your Immune System Is Weakened With Low Quality Sleep

Deep cystic acne is caused by an infection of the P.acnes bacteria, which tends to reside in the deeper levels of your skin and can block your pores leading to acne. This kind of infection is especially difficult to fight off if your immune system is already weakened. A good quality sleep not only ensures adequate immunity levels but also keeps cystic acne at bay.

4. More Stress Hormone Release

When you become sleep deprived, it triggers the stress response of your body, leading to increased levels of the hormone cortisol. The hormone cortisol tends to flare up existing levels of inflammation in the body, which means if you already suffer from conditions such as acne or psoriasis, they are bound to flare up during those times. That’s why being well rested is so crucial to the proper healing of inflammatory disorders concerning the skin.

5. Decreased Sleep Leads To Accelerated Aging

As mentioned above, the natural process of healing and repair takes place during the wee hours of the night. If you suffer from disruptive sleep the natural healing and maintenance routine of your skin cells can be severely impacted. This can lead to a dull complexion with visible signs of aging ensuing soon after.

6. Poor Sleep Can Lead To Other Problems Too

Apart from the skin woes, chronic sleep deprivation can lead to under eye bags, dull complexion, increased stress levels, weight gain, reduced heart health, faulty gut health and anxiety. It is safe to say that the negative impact of low quality sleep can spread beyond the scope of your facial skin.

So do you need any more reasons to catch up on those extra hours of sleep? It’s time to catch some zzzs!