If there are two major aspects that people often strive to improve in their lives, they’re sleep and skincare. Aging has become a taboo topic in our culture, and it feels like a race against time to find the serums and procedures that can turn back the clock from having our age show on our complexion. That being said, there are a number of small mistakes that you could be making in your day to day life which may be expediting the aging process and causing wrinkles to appear more prominent than you might like.
One such mistake, frighteningly enough, can come when you’re asleep. But rest easy, it’s a simple one to fix. If you’re hoping to preserve your appearance and reduce the risk of premature aging, there’s one nighttime factor you should try to avoid to protect your complexion–while still getting a good night’s sleep.
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You may find that sleeping on your stomach is the ultimate comfort pose, allowing your face contact with the cool pillow as a soothing position to lull you right to sleep. However, it’s this sleep position which could be expediting the development of wrinkles on your complexion, causing fine lines that otherwise would not have appeared, to show on your face prematurely.
“As you place your face directly on the pillow, it causes friction on the skin. Apart from wrinkles around the chin and jaw area, stomach sleepers may also develop forehead lines and crow's feet near the eyes,” warns Dr. Charu Sharma, Head of Dermatology at CureSkin. While you don’t have to worry about waking up with a face covered in wrinkles after one night of sleeping on your stomach, years of this sleep pattern could build up fine lines and irritation for a harsher aging process.
Think about when you fall asleep with your face pressed into a material, and you wake up with lines appearing on the surface of your skin. “Sleeping on your stomach folds and presses on the skin which can eventually cause permanent creases, like when you fold a shirt in your drawer and take it out. As these lines become more pronounced, they can make you look older,” explains Maryann Mikhail, MD Board Certified Dermatologist.
While those lines will fade quickly in your younger years, the more time you spend sleeping on your stomach, the longer it will take for those lines to fade when you grow older, creating lasting damage and breaking down collagen if you’re repeatedly pressing your face in the same area each night.
Another factor which can expedite the development of wrinkles from sleeping on your stomach is, in fact, your skincare routine. It’s well known that retinol is an important and effective method of increasing collagen production in the body, and that applying SPF regularly is essential for preventing sun damage. But failing to take these precautions during the day can make your skin even more sensitive and prone to revealing fine lines more quickly.
“If these sleeping habits are followed by poor sun protection and dehydrated skin, these wrinkles can develop sooner. Regular skincare with religious sun protection measures and applying a rich moisturiser at night would definitely help,” notes Dr. Sharma. Additionally, if you often find yourself flipping onto your stomach while you sleep, investing in a silk pillowcase can help to reduce the friction on your face throughout the night, putting less pressure on your complexion.
Ultimately you will be best served to stop sleeping on your stomach all together and try sleeping on your back or side. Not only will this protect your skin from premature aging, but these poses also boast a number of other health benefits such as relieving heartburn, back pain, and even tension headaches.
Getting a good night's sleep is essential to your overall health, and keeping well rested regularly will allow for a smoother aging process, but if it’s possible to avoid sleeping on your stomach you will find that down the line your skin will thank you. Assuring graceful aging is a multi-faceted process which requires a solid skincare routine, ample hydration, and yes, sleeping on your back.
