Beauty Sleep - the science

Sleep Disorders

Beauty Sleep - the science

Early in the nightime sleep cycle, people typically have a surge in growth hormone. This period of deep sleep, stages 3 and 4 sleep, contributes to what people call "beauty sleep" as secretion of growth hormone helps repair and rebuild body tissues like muscle and bone. Many of the body’s cells also show increased production and reduced breakdown of proteins during deep sleep. Since proteins are the building blocks needed for cell growth and for repair of damage from factors like stress and ultraviolet rays, deep sleep may truly be "beauty sleep."

Increased growth hormone release is believed to be linked to the fasting state which develops in human sleep. There is some evidence that skin cells regenerate faster at night than during the day.

Human nighttime sleep is lengthy in comparison with that of many other mammals. Other animals usually don't have releases of growth hormone during sleep and few other mammals enter a fasting state during sleep. Herbivores continue to digest food throughout their sleep, carnivores gorge themselves on meat which can take up to a day to digest, and rodents wake up periodically to nibble more food. The human sleep-related growth hormone surge may be a mechanism to protect tissue protein against potentially decremental effects of this fast, and also to promote the body's mobilisation of its fat reserves.

What happens if you don't get your beauty sleep? It is not just lack of sleep that negatively affects body fat percentage and the risk of chronic disease—poor sleep quality does as well. Deep sleep also helps to negate the bad effects of cortisol. Growth hormone naturally decreases with age and also with increased abdominal fat, leading to a viscious cycle of fatigue, excess stress hormone and increased abdominal fat.

Activity in parts of the brain that control emotions, decision-making processes, and social interactions is drastically reduced during deep sleep, suggesting that this type of sleep may help people maintain optimal emotional and social functioning while they are awake. This is another benefit of beauty sleep.

Some cosmetic products are susceptible to sunlight and you consequently get more out of them if you use them before bed. Antioxidants such as vitamins C and E will stay active on your skin longer if you apply them at night. (Whether these products truly prevent aging is another question.)

Some people advocate sleeping on your back – as opposed to your side or stomach – in a belief that this position prevents wrinkles. A website produced by the American Academy of Dermatologists suggests that "resting your face on the pillow in the same way every night for years on end also leads to wrinkles." They suggest sleeping on your back to avoid wrinkles.

The role of stress

Stress has detrimental effects on skin tone; it causes alopecia areata, psoriasis, and atopic dematitis. Chronic stress harms the body's ability to repair itself. Sleep deprivation applies stress to the body. Sleep deprivation leads to unhealthy appearance.