Is Your Beauty Rest Causing Wrinkles?

If you’re serious about anti-aging, you’d do just about anything to kick wrinkles and fine lines to the curb. You invest in all the right anti-aging ingredients, apply them onto your skin the right way and at the right time, you avoid the sun like the plague, and go the extra mile to ensure you’re snoozing for the recommended number of hours. By all accounts, you’re warding off unwanted signs of aging, but then why do you still have visible creases on your face, neck, and chest? While it’s hard to know your specific situation, your sleeping habits may be to blame. To learn more about how our sleeping position and evening routine could be taking a toll on our skin’s youthful visage, we tapped board-certified dermatologist, and Skincare.com consultant, Dr. Dendy Engelman. Read on to discover if your beauty sleep is actually wrecking all of your anti-aging efforts.

CONSIDER YOUR SLEEPING POSITION

Are you a side sleeper? If the answer is yes, brace yourself for some hard-to-swallow news. Sleeping on your side can lead to sleep wrinkles, as it causes parts of your skin to crease for extended periods of time. Repeating that same position each and every night can eventually cause permanent wrinkles to form on your face, neck, and chest. “I recommend that my patients sleep on their backs to avoid compression lines and sleep wrinkles,” Dr. Engelman says. “Also, use breathable cotton sheets that are washed regularly, so they don’t collect dust mites and bacteria.”

Editor’s tip: If you have trouble sticking to a position on your back throughout the night, place body pillows around you to help reduce the chances of you turning over mid-REM. In general, though, any amount of time spent not sleeping on your side can be helpful in the long-run.

CONSIDER YOUR EVENING SKIN CARE ROUTINE

Your evening skin care routine may be flawless, but it’s worth mentioning that nighttime is one of the best times of day to devote to anti-aging efforts. The reason being that during deep sleep, our skin works on its own renewal and repair. In order to get the most out of that time, it’s crucial that our skin is cleansed of impurities and makeup, and that any creams, serums, and lotions are applied and ready to get to work. Even if you’re super tired, muster up the energy to wash your face and apply your targeted wrinkle creams. It can make all the difference.

GET A FULL NIGHT’S SLEEP

It’s called beauty rest for a reason. Proper sleep gives your body time to refresh and renew itself. Continuously depriving yourself of those hours—think: pulling an all-nighter or binge-watching your favorite TV show till dawn—can speed up the visible signs of aging. According to Dr. Engelman, it’s during deep sleep that our body’s hydration levels rebalance. By missing out on precious shut-eye, the moisture levels in our skin can suffer an imbalance, causing dryness. Since dry skin can exacerbate the look of wrinkles, it’s in your best interest to get the recommended hours of sleep every night to help promote youthful-looking skin.

Editor’s note: While sleep is great, don’t overdo it. According to the Mayo Clinic, sleeping more than nine to 10 hours a night may result in a poor quality of sleep, whether it be difficulty falling asleep or staying asleep. Long story short: Sleeping more won’t necessarily make your skin look younger sooner.