In the life of a busy girl, sometimes it can feel that there aren’t enough hours in a day. On top of juggling a full-time job, family and other responsibilities, there’s also the crazy traffic to shuttle through in the bustling city.
It’s no wonder, then, that many of us lack a good night’s sleep. Adults need at least 7 hours of sleep for optimal body function and to keep our systems running smoothly. While you may be sacrificing those zzz’s to tick off your to-do list, depriving yourself of sleep could be taking a toll on your health, including your skin health. These are the effects on your skin when you don’t get enough sleep:
1. When you don’t get enough sleep, you get stressed — and so does your skin. Cortisol, the stress hormone, naturally decreases at nighttime, which helps ensure a good night’s rest, allowing our skin to regenerate and repair damaged tissue from the daytime. Deprive yourself of sleep and your body releases more cortisol, disrupting the skin’s healing process, giving way to more breakouts and disintegrating collagen. Say hello to fine lines, premature aging, and breakouts instead.
2. You become more susceptible to UV damage in the daytime. While there’s no discounting the importance of wearing sunscreen during the day, sleep lets your skin cells work overtime in producing antioxidants for protection. Antioxidants can help reduce free-radical damage caused by UV rays.
3. Your moisture levels become affected, resulting in dry, flaky skin and redness. If you’ve wondered why you’ve had less of a youthful glow after a rough night, that’s no thanks to your moisture levels that have gone out of whack. Lacking sleep can lead to inflammation and skin barrier dysfunction, which deprives hydration.
4. Dark circles under your eyes become more prominent. Lacking in shut-eye can cause the blood vessels in your under-eye area to dilate, creating a dark tint. Your body also doesn’t circulate blood efficiently, leading to dull and tired skin because of the lack of oxygen and nutrients.