Sleep has been called a fountain of youth. With good reason - your body repairs, recovers, and rejuvenates as you sleep.
For some guys, the advantages of sleep are a double edged sword. Sure, getting 8 hours of sleep each night does wonders for your skin. You’re interested in men’s grooming and developing an effective skincare for men routine, so that’s important to you.
But the reality is that life is stressful. Getting 8 hours of sleep every night isn’t feasible for a lot of folks.
What are the men’s skincare benefits of getting better sleep? What are the disadvantages of poor sleep or not enough sleep? And how can you improve your sleep habits?
Your Skin on Sleep
As you sleep, your body goes through many different cycles. As part of those cycles, you produce collagen - the protein that is a basic building block for your skin. Collagen is critical to healthy skin because it provides firmness, maintains elasticity, and seals in moisture.
Blood flow to your skin is also increased during sleep. Good circulation means the skin on your face stays properly hydrated without becoming inflamed or puffy.
Your skin hydration is also balanced while you are sleeping. Any excess water is removed and your skin recovers moisture that has been pulled out by wind, the sun, dry heat, and other environmental factors.
When You Don’t Sleep Enough
Beauty sleep is not just a made-up nonsense term. It’s serious stuff. Without an average of 8 hours each night, your body’s ability to keep your skin healthy and youthful is hamstringed.
Consider collagen production. If you are burning the midnight oil, your body will release excess cortisol - called the stress hormone. This substance, though naturally occurring, is bad news in large doses. Too much cortisol can break down your collagen and leave your skin dull, loose, and wrinkled.
How about blood flow? Want to get rid of the dark circles under your eyes? You’ll need to make sleep a priority.
The skin on your face - especially the skin around your eyes - is thin and sensitive. If circulation cannot peak during a healthy sleep cycle, you are more likely to see the formation of dark circles. They are essentially buildups of blood around your eyes.
The same concept applies to puffiness and bags under the eyes - signs of poor hydration. Moisture gets trapped under your eyes and stays there, making you look a mess the morning after.
How to Improve Your Sleep Habits and Your Skin
Don’t be discouraged if you have bad sleep habits now. There are smart skincare for men techniques that can help you minimize the effects of a bad night of sleep.
But if you have a chronic problem with bad sleep habits, you’re in trouble. Studies have shown that getting 5 hours of sleep instead of 7 leads to twice as many wrinkles and fine lines.
Worried? You should be. Now apply these suggestions:
- Improve your sleep environment. For quality, restful sleep you need to be in a cool, dark, quiet space. While you may be able to control this at home, sleeping on the road can be a challenge. Bring along a sleep mask and earplugs if your accommodations have you worried.
- Put away electronics. Screens are ruining your sleep habits. The light emitted by computers, tablets, and phones affect your brain, making you stay awake and alert. Promote better sleep by putting away your electronics one hour before bed. Seem impossible? It’s not. Try keeping electronics out of the bedroom - or at least ban them from the bed itself.
- Don’t Eat Late. A big meal just before bed is a recipe for sleep disaster. To get a good night of beauty sleep, do not eat a big meal within 2 hours of bedtime. Stay hydrated by drinking plenty of water throughout the day. But don’t go hard on the water right before bed - otherwise, you’ll be up during the night.
Improve Your Men’s Grooming Game
Getting better sleep will make a big difference. But you will get the best results if you combine a good sleep routine with smart men’s grooming. Use this routine to make skincare for men successful.
- Wash before bed. If you go to sleep with your face covered in dirt, oil, and other daily debris, you’re in for trouble. All that junk will sit on your face through the night, clogging your pores and putting you at risk or blemishes and breakouts. Use face wash for men before you go to sleep to get rid of dirt and bacteria.
- Use anti-aging cream. Boost your body’s natural healing process with anti-aging cream for men. Your body is already producing more collagen and increasing blood flow to your face while you sleep. That means the anti-aging cream for men will be able to offer you the greatest benefits.
- Apply eye cream. This is especially important if you have problems with puffiness, bags, and dark circles. Eye cream for men boosts blood flow and circulation to the sensitive skin around your eyes. You’ll wake up looking significantly more refreshed if you use eye cream for men just before bed.
Want to look your best? You’ve got to make sleep a priority. Get 8 hours a night - or as close to that as you can - and you will see improvement.
