Most patients discussing skin aging look towards extrinsic determinants, which run from sun exposure, skincare routine, or diet. But yet another quite common nifty element is affecting the process: your sleep position. For some reason, the way you go to sleep each night affects the condition of your skin, especially with regard to wrinkles and skin sagging.
Let’s begin to delve into how the position you sleep in can influence the aging process along with ways you can keep your skin safe while you sleep.
Sleep Wrinkles: What They Are and How They Form
When you sleep on your side or your tummy, the face end drags on the pillow, producing a degree of friction. The repeated pressure ultimately leads to what are called sleep wrinkles. These are different from expression lines brought about by facial expressions such as smiling or frowning: they are caused by physical forces acting against your skin while you are unconscious.
Although you might wrinkle when you are younger and they could disappear in an instant even after rising, they become more permanent with age because the skin loses the elasticity that allows it to “bounce back” from any damage or impressions made upon it. At first, they were just temporary marks but changed to permanent lines and creases over time.
According to a piece published in the Aesthetic Surgery Journal, the sleep position directly affects how these wrinkles form. As people age, the loss of elasticity and collagen makes skin more susceptible to creasing, and takes longer to recoil from pressure experienced in sleep. You can read more about the study.
The Effect of Various Sleeping Postures
Side Sleeping:
Sleeping on your side is probably the most common sleeping position; however, it is also a great contributor to sleep wrinkles. As your face consistently rests against the pillow, it gets pressed and stretched, developing lines across the cheeks and around the eyes.
2. Stomach Sleeping:
One of the toughest on your skin, a sleeping position is sleeping face down. In this position, the full weight of your head will press your skin into the pillow, which can cause deep creases on your forehead, chin, and cheeks.
3. Back Sleeping:
Sleeping on your back is, however, the best sleeping position for your skin. In this position, your face is not resting on the pillow which decreases your likelihood of getting sleep wrinkles.
Why Do These Wrinkles Form?
With age, the collagen and elastin in our skin start breaking down. These proteins are what keep our skin firm and elastic, but their absence makes the skin far more prone to damage by such external forces as the pressure of your pillow at night.
As the years pass, the ability of the skin to heal itself diminishes. Every night that you sleep on your side or stomach, you’re compressing your skin, and without the same regenerative powers as when you were younger, those compression lines may deepen and last longer.
How to Minimize Sleep Wrinkles
You can change your sleeping position to avoid sleep wrinkles. The best method of preventing aging of the face caused by sleep posture is to sleep on your back. However, changing sleep posture requires effort and sometimes patience.
If you are a side sleeper or stomach sleeper, there are the following tips that you can consider.
1. Change to a Supportive Pillow:
A special pillow may help you maintain a back-sleeping position more easily. Take pillows that support your head and neck but do not press your face.
2. Silk or satin pillowcases
Silk or satin pillowcases cause less friction in contact with skin, which may reduce the impact caused by sleeping posture. If you can’t turn over to side lying, these fabrics can help you minimize the damage that occurs.
3. Hydration and Skincare:
Hydrated skin is more elastic and less wrinkly. Make sure the skin is moisturized before sleeping and hydrated for the rest of the day. Additionally, applying night creams based on retinoids and hyaluronic acid supports the recovery processes your skin helps you have overnight.
4. Consult an Anti-Aging Specialist:
Nevertheless, while you can make some changes to your lifestyle, it is also important to seek professional help to ensure the best outcome. Doctors Best Wellness has a whole range of anti-aging solutions addressing wrinkles from topical treatment to advanced therapy to manage existing wrinkles and prevent future wrinkles. For their list of services, visit Doctors Best Wellness.
Is It Too Late to Change?
If you have been sleeping on your side or stomach for years now, you may ask whether changing your sleep posture now will be of much difference. Sure, you cannot reverse wrinkles that have already formed, but you can still prevent further damage by changing your habits now.
Very few people can just switch to sleeping on their backs, but with suitable pillows or sleep aids, it is entirely possible. Even if you can sleep only part of the night on your back, the more you spend a stretch of time with your face not squished into a pillow, the better your chances of slowing the roll-out of sleep wrinkles.
Holistic Anti-Aging
In addition to the shift of position in bed, there are countless other causes of skin aging. Hence, with a proper skincare regime and a diet that is rich in antioxidants, as well as hydrated water, one can keep their skin looking absolutely fabulous. Also, one should limit exposure to the sun and use sunscreen.
For your skin care objectives, Doctors Best Wellness is offering its services so that you may attain the best care in addressing issues about anti-aging. Non-invasive treatments and personal skincare recommendations would make all the difference in having healthy and good-looking skin.
Final Thoughts
The sleep position is often an underestimated factor in skin appearance. With great genetic makeup and exposure to the sun, it is there, but, on the other hand, one has an opportunity to control one more variable, namely, sleep posture. Even minor changes, like turning to back sleep and making sure that pillows are used properly, may minimize the formation of sleep wrinkles and maintain a younger look.
Doctors Best Wellness addresses your sleep wrinkles and other signs of aging through its advanced lineup of treatments. This lets you take charge of the future of your skin, so you can age with wisdom and poise.
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