Whether it’s finding the perfect skin moisturizer or harnessing the power of green tea, we are always on the lookout for things that we can do to keep ourselves beautiful. It turns out, after all that effort and money spent, that one of the things that can be most effective in preserving beauty is rather effortless and cost-free, and that’s getting enough sleep.
The Science Behind Beauty Sleep
We have all heard about how good sleep is for us, and as it turns out, beauty sleep is a real thing too. When you get the right amount of shut-eye every night, it’s one of the best things that you can do for your beauty routine. When you sleep, you increase collagen production, which is responsible for keeping your skin firm; you reduce cortisol levels, which damages collagen and causes wrinkles; and you help your facial muscles relax and allow your skin to regenerate, all leading to a rested, youthful appearance. However, even if you get a lot of sleep, it turns out that the position you sleep in can add to or take away from all of this essential beauty effort.
The Best Position for Optimal Beauty Sleep
The best sleeping position for you to adopt to enhance your beauty sleep is sleeping on your back. Sleeping on your side or stomach can be a real nightmare for your beauty rest, as this presses your face into your pillow, resulting in unwanted facial lines. Moreover, the low-level of your head as you lay flatter increases blood flow to your face. Since gravity naturally promotes lymph and blood flow, when you sleep on your back with your head elevated on a pillow, fluid will have less of a chance to accumulate in your face, which is what gives most people that post-sleep puffy appearance, especially around the eyes.
Stomach and side positions also lend themselves to more tossing and turning due to pain receptors being triggered. And this tossing and turning during the night also reduces your skin’s ability to repair itself, which can leave you with bags under your eyes. Those dark circles that we all seem to struggle with from time to time are usually a result of the skin thinning under the eye, revealing the blood vessels underneath. When you sleep well and this skin is able to repair itself, it is less thin, resulting in less of a dark color.
One of the best ways to reduce tossing and turning is to have a comfortable and supportive mattress. Foam mattresses, like this one from Eve for example, are becoming popular as they decrease pressure on the points where your body meets the mattress. The desire to stir during sleep is usually due to too much pressure being experienced in individual spots; with less pressure point pain, you will experience less tossing and turning and will likely have more success at staying comfortably on your back all night. Using products related to good sleep is the easy part, it’s only getting to bed at a reasonable time that is hard for some!
It can also be good for you to invest in a silk pillowcase. This softer material is easier on your face – if you do end up on your side or stomach momentarily – reducing any blemishes and creasing caused by friction. It is also much better on your hair, helping to reduce split ends and allowing you to wake up frizz-free. If you don’t like the idea of sleeping on a silk pillowcase, then consider wrapping your hair up in a silk scarf to get the frizz-free hair effect.
Of course, it’s also important to clean your face and moisturize before going to bed as well. Getting 10 hours of sleep on your back won’t do much for your pores if you do so with a face still caked in makeup. So how do you enhance on beauty sleep? Get enough good quality sleep, and keep your face clean, moisturized and out of your pillow.