We’ve all made the mistake before: we executed our skincare routine perfectly, then skipped out on our sleep time. The term “beauty sleep” has been coined for a reason, and science shows us why. So let’s dive into the relationship between sleep and beauty so we can better understand its role in our appearance.

This is part one of a two-part series on the skincare benefits of sleep. If you’d like to know when part two is available, subscribe and get it sent straight to your inbox.

What is considered a poor night's sleep?

A poor night's sleep consists of less than 7 hours of sleep during a 24-hour window. Whilst of course this may happen here and there (which is okay), on average adults should be getting 7-9 hours of sleep a night. Along with sleep duration, comes the quality of that sleep. A disrupted sleep with multiple awakenings across the night has similar consequences.

The Benefits of Sleep for Beauty

Eyes And Under Eyes

The first noticeable signs of a poor night’s sleep lie right beneath your eyes in the form of puffiness and dark under-eye circles.

Your blood vessels dilate during a poor night's sleep, and because the skin around your eyes is thin, it's the most noticeable spot to see it. This dilation is responsible for that dreaded experience of puffiness and dark under-eye circles. The Kadee Botanicals Eye Cream can help brighten up those dark under-eye circles whilst fading out fine lines, but as always, remember to sleep!

To make matters more frustrating, a lack of sleep also decreases the amount of oxygen pumped to your eyes, which leads to the appearance of bloodshot eyes.

On a side note - not only does a lack of sleep impact the blood vessels in your eyes, but it also impacts your overall cardiovascular health. The European Heart Journal released a study that tracked over 470,000 people of varying ages, gender, and race. They discovered that short sleep increases your risk of coronary heart disease by 48%. This is of huge concern, especially because heart disease is the leading cause of death globally.

Next time you look in the mirror and see these signs, you may wonder “What else is going on?”.

Collagen production

It’s an unavoidable truth that sleep is necessary to restore and rebuild just about every aspect of health. So it’s no surprise to hear that sleep is essential for stimulating collagen production to repair collagen that’s been damaged throughout the day. And because collagen naturally depletes as you age, it’s worthwhile doing what you can to work in your body's favour and support its collagen production.

In case you forgot how important collagen is, here’s a little fact about collagen: Three-quarters of your skin consists of a protein called collagen. It is the most abundant protein in your skin and it’s also found in connective tissue throughout your body. You can also thank collagen for your skin's elasticity and youthful appearance.

Did you know that vitamin C stimulates collagen synthesis? That’s why The Kadee Botanicals Hydrating Day & Night Cream contains Kakadu plum, a native Australian plant that has the highest natural source of vitamin C. The antioxidant-rich cream will plump out your skin and reduce wrinkles.

 

Regulating Appetite and Maintaining a Healthy Weight

One of the less anticipated side effects poor sleep brings is the effect it has on your weight.

A lack of sleep negatively impacts your ability to feel satiated after eating, which in turn may cause you to eat more than you would otherwise. This is because that full feeling you have after a meal is caused by a hormone called leptin, which you produce less of when you are sleep deprived.

Another hormone that contributes to weight gain, which is influenced by a lack of sleep, is ghrelin. Ghrelin is commonly referred to as the hunger hormone because it is released when your stomach is empty. With insufficient sleep, more Ghrelin is produced, which means you may feel hungrier than usual.

Thanks to these two hormones, you can see how a lack of sleep contributes to weight gain.

Skin Barrier Repair

Your skin barrier is the outermost layer of your skin, it’s there to retain moisture and prevent unwanted toxins from penetrating your skin.

Having healthy sleep is key when restoring the skin barrier to its normal function. This study found that those who slept well had 30% greater skin barrier recovery compared to those who slept poorly.

Using harsh skin care, and overdoing skin care, is one of the culprits leading to a damaged skin barrier. Other causes include sun exposure, too much humidity or dryness, and pollution. So you can see that the skin barrier is bound to get damaged at some point as we go about our lives.

To learn more about the skin barrier, read here.

There’s more to sleep than beauty

It’s important to remember that there’s so much more to sleep than what’s skin deep! Like an infinite amount of articles more.

Sleep helps maintain heart health, mental functioning, emotional well-being, immune function, and pretty much every single aspect of health. But if beauty drives you to get those sleep hours in, we’re all for it!

And if you’re looking for ways to optimize your sleep feel free to subscribe for part two of our skincare benefits from sleep article!

Product recommendations

Here at Kadee Botanicals, our products are formulated with care for your skin, overall health, and the environment.

Kadee Botanical Products are inspired by Nature and free of:

• Sulfates (SLS & SLES)
• Parabens
• Mineral oils (petroleum based)
• Artificial colours
• Artificial fragrances
• Animal Derivatives
• MEA/DEA/TEA
• Harsh Detergents
• Propylene Glycol
• Phthalates
• Triclosan
• Silicones
• Gluten
• Not tested on Animals

 

Use the Kadee Botanicals Eye Cream to brighten those darker circles with the highest source of vitamin C out there, Australian Kakadu Plum and Lilly Pilly. This anti-aging eye cream has the soothing combination of cucumber oil and jojoba oil, at your service to fade out those fine lines!

The Kadee Botanicals Hydrating Day & Night Cream is filled to the brim with natural goodness to plump away those fine lines and wrinkles! Made with Organic Rosehip Oil and Kakadu Plum, your skin will love the combination of vitamins A and C to give you that flawless glow. It’s powerfully anti-aging whilst remaining light and absorbable. Not to mention, it’s jam-packed with antioxidants to protect your skin cells from free radicals.