Beauty sleep – your skin needs it

You’ve likely noticed when you skimp on sleep, the results show up in your face. Dilated blood vessels from lack of sleep show up on your face in the form of tired skin which sags and bags, giving you a less than ideal complexion.

The bad news

 When you’re exhausted, you’re also more likely to be stressed and that’s going to show up on your face. If you’ve been up to the wee hours smoking and imbibing, well, it’s bad news for your skin.  Alcohol can affect the quality of your time in bed when you should be getting a deep restful sleep. Smoking – well, it’s not news to anyone that it causes wrinkles.

 Your entire body, including your skin, switches into repair mode while you’re sleeping. Your skin takes this time to renew itself by replacing older skin cells with new ones. Hormonal and metabolic changes take place while you’re at rest. Losing sleep can disrupt these changes.

 It’s not only your skin that suffers. Chronic lack of sleep is linked to many serious health issues—high blood pressure, heart disease, diabetes and depression.

 The good news

Skin recovers quickly. If you get a good night’s sleep, the changes are rapidly apparent. How much is enough? The experts say seven to nine hours is right, any more than that is too much.

 Don’t be tempted to short-change yourself on pillow time. Your skin will thank you.