How Sleep Affects Your Skin Health

A radiant, youthful complexion is often attributed to various skincare products and treatments—and these can certainly take you a long way. However, one way to boost your glow is often overlooked: a good night's rest. Read on to learn more about how your skin recovers at night, plus how you can maximize the benefits of your beauty sleep.

Your skin's nighttime recovery process

During the day, your skin is in defense mode, protecting itself from environmental stressors such as UV radiation, pollution, and free radicals. At night, however, the skin shifts into repair and regeneration mode. This activity is crucial for maintaining healthy skin and involves several key processes.

Cellular repair and renewal

While we sleep, the body increases blood flow to the skin, which helps to deliver oxygen and nutrients necessary for cell repair and growth. This process is particularly active during the deeper stages of sleep.

Collagen production

Collagen is a protein that provides structure and elasticity to the skin—think youthful-looking skin with a natural bounce. During sleep, the body ramps up the production of melatonin and growth hormone, both of which play roles in repairing damaged skin cells and boosting the production of collagen. This contributes to the maintenance of the skin's firmness and resilience.

Detoxification

During sleep, the skin undergoes a detoxification process, removing impurities and repairing damage caused by environmental stressors. The increased blood flow helps remove toxins and metabolic waste products that have accumulated throughout the day. This nightly renewal process helps to restore skin health, reduce inflammation, and prepare the skin for the environmental stresses it may face during the day.

Moisture balance

Sleep helps balance the body's hydration levels, ensuring the skin retains moisture. By supporting the skin's barrier function, trans-epidermal water loss is prevented, and moisture is locked in; this is critical for minimizing dryness and maintaining a smooth, supple texture.

The impact of good vs. bad sleep on skin

If you’re spending loads on the perfect skincare products but skipping out on sleep to work, socialize, or scroll, you may want to rethink your routine. Understanding the impact lifestyle factors can have on the health and appearance of your skin is crucial for a holistic approach to skincare.

• Inflammation: Adequate sleep reduces the production of inflammatory markers in the body, which can help to prevent irritating skin conditions. Conversely, lack of sleep triggers an inflammatory response in the body, leading to redness and irritation.
• Aging: Good sleep helps minimize the appearance of fine lines and wrinkles by promoting collagen production and cellular repair. Sleep deprivation, on the other hand, impairs collagen production and accelerates the breakdown of existing collagen, resulting in more pronounced wrinkles and sagging skin.
• Hydration: Proper rest aids in the reduction of dark circles, puffiness, and uneven skin tone, leading to a more radiant complexion come morning time. Insufficient sleep, however, disrupts the skin's moisture balance, leading to dryness and a dull complexion.
• Barrier function: As mentioned, sleep strengthens the skin's barrier function, making it more effective at retaining moisture and defending against harmful environmental factors. Poor sleep compromises the skin's barrier, making it more susceptible to environmental damage and reducing its ability to retain moisture, leading to increased sensitivity and irritation.

How to prepare your skin for sleep

Use the following tips to curate a cozy bedtime ritual that’ll help you prioritize self-care and the beauty sleep your skin craves.

1. Adopt a nighttime skincare ritual

Prepare your skin's natural nighttime repair and renewal with a solid nighttime skincare ritual. Consider these steps a good place to start:

• Begin with a gentle but effective cleanser to remove the makeup, impurities, and pollutants your skin may have gathered throughout the day.
• If you’re using products tailored to your skin's specific needs or concerns, such as toners or serums, apply those next. Give the delicate skin around your eyes a little extra love using the Black Tea Age-Delay Eye Cream—an antioxidant anti-aging cream designed to visibly improve dark circles while firming and smoothing fine lines and wrinkles for a lifted, radiant look.
• Finally, seal in the goodness with a night cream or moisturizer suited to your skin type.

2. Relax and unwind

Engaging in calming activities, such as reading, journaling, or gentle yoga, helps to signal to your body that it’s time to transition from wakefulness to sleep. This relaxation period reduces stress levels and decreases production of cortisol, the stress hormone, which can interfere with sleep.

By establishing a consistent pre-sleep routine and going to bed at the same time most nights, you can reinforce healthy sleep patterns and improve the quality of your rest.

One of our favorite pre-sleep rituals is a warm bath. A relaxing soak with the Sake Bath soak, a calming body scrub massage using the Brown Sugar Body Polish, and a luxurious lather with the Milk Body Lotion is more than enough to inspire a dreamy night of deep restoration.

3. Practice good light hygiene

Good hygiene around bedtime is essential for supporting your body's circadian rhythm—the internal 24-hour clock that regulates sleep-wake cycles and various physiological processes. The circadian rhythm influences sleep quality, hormone production, and cellular repair processes.

To maintain a healthy circadian rhythm, it’s helpful to minimize exposure to artificial light before bedtime—think phone screens, computers, and TVs. Replace nighttime scrolling with an overnight face mask and a podcast or book. The Black Tea Firming Overnight Mask is a high-performance sleep mask that cocoons your skin in a velvety cream, delivering intense moisture and firming benefits.

Your freshest face—day and night

At fresh, you’ll find a range of collections tailored to your skin type so you can indulge in the skincare and beauty sleep you’ve been dreaming of. Learn more about skincare must-haves, the science behind our ingredients, and more on the fresh blog.