With smart devices and experts alike telling us to get a good night’s rest, it has become something of an obsession for many. That’s because the benefits of getting the full eight hours (or more) translates to a better complexion in both the short and long term. Here we asked four experts to share how to improve the quality and quantity of our sleep, so we can wake up looking and feeling brighter.
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So, why is beauty sleep so important?
Sleep is so important for the whole body, but especially for the complexion. “During the night, our skin typically switches from protect mode to repair mode,” says Lucy Macdougald, dermal specialist at Biologi.
Skin on the night shift behaves differently from skin during the day, and with a decent night’s sleep you’ll also help to ward off premature ageing explains Lucy.
“When we sleep, our body releases the important growth hormone that supports collagen production, which minimises fine lines,” she says.
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What other factors can cause a disrupted sleep?
Sleep and stress make terrible bedfellows.
“Stress is by far the biggest cause of poor sleep,” says Luke McLeod, founder of virtual meditation and mindfulness app Soul Alive.
“It can come from a number of areas, including work, relationships, financial and health worries.
But there are more direct causes, such as too much screen time before bed, a poor diet, not enough exercise and dehydration,” he explains.
How can hormones affect our sleep?
When hormones drop or spike as a result of pregnancy, breastfeeding, menstruation or menopause, it can muck with the quality of our sleep and that has a knock-on effect on skin.
Menopause especially causes oestrogen to drop and can disrupt sleep in the form of night sweats.
“Night sweats can be triggered by stress, changes in temperature, physical closeness and the brain dysregulation of core body temperature during sleep,” says Dr Gary Elkins, creator of app Evia, which trains the mind to reduce the severity and frequency of hot flushes.
