Is Poor Sleep Ageing Your Skin?

How Poor Sleep Affects Your Skin

There are over 90 recognized sleep disorders, many of which impact skin health due to their effects on hormone regulation and stress levels.² Sleep regulates essential hormones like cortisol, glucose, and melatonin, keeping inflammation and oxidative stress in check.

When sleep is disrupted, cortisol levels rise, accelerating collagen breakdown and weakening skin structure. Healthy skin is highly dependent on collagen to provide strength and elasticity, but factors like poor immune function can affect the availability of this vital protein.

Since sleep plays a key role in immune restoration, a lack of it can interfere with the complex process of collagen formation. Poor sleep weakens immune function, triggering inflammation and oxidative stress while disrupting hormone balance. This not only accelerates skin aging and delays wound healing but also disrupts metabolism and impairs DNA repair, increasing vulnerability to wrinkles, pigmentation changes, and long-term damage.

By supporting hormone balance and immune function, restful sleep plays a vital role in maintaining blemish-free, healthy skin.

Why You’re Not Sleeping Well

The National Sleep Foundation recommends 7 to 9 hours of sleep for adults, but it seems that when you start to sleep is important too. Experts suggest that every hour of sleep before midnight is worth two after midnight,³ so it’s well worth getting tucked in earlier to reap the benefits.

However, many factors can disrupt sleep. Your environment, activity levels, muscle tension, stress, and caffeine or alcohol intake all play a role. Less obvious factors can also make it harder to get the quality rest needed to function well, such as:

•        Bed Position – Research suggests that sleeping with your head facing south may improve sleep quality by aligning with the Earth's magnetic field.⁴ Adjusting your bed’s position could be worth trying.
•        Gut Bacteria – Emerging evidence links gut bacteria to sleep quality and duration.⁵ Certain microbes produce GABA, a neurotransmitter that supports restful sleep, while others, like Corynebacterium, may help synthesize serotonin, a key regulator of sleep.⁵
•        Air Pollution – Studies suggest traffic-related pollution can make it harder to fall asleep.⁶
•        Dust Mites – House dust mites are shown to have a significant effect on sleep quality, more so than other allergens.⁷
•        Poor Diet –  Eating a high-calorie, nutrient-poor diet, low in vegetables and high in saturated fat has been linked to insomnia.⁸
•        Restless Legs  - This condition is characterised by an overwhelming urge to move your legs during the night, with unpleasant tingling or throbbing sensations that keep you awake.

How to Improve Your Sleep & Protect Your Skin

The three golden rules for achieving maximum benefits from sleep include: getting the right quantity of sleep,  consistency in your sleep schedule and the quality of your sleep. Here are a few helpful tips to get you on track for a restorative and restful night’s sleep:

Create a pre-sleep routine – try yoga or deep breathing techniques to relieve anxiety and muscle tension, or take a warm bath to help you sleep.

Try a light snack before bed - foods high in tryptophan, such as bananas, may help you to sleep.

Maintain a consistent sleep and wake schedule - the body gets used to falling asleep and waking up at a certain time. Go to bed when you naturally feel tired. Stick to this routine, even on weekends. waking naturally means you're well-rested; if you need an alarm, consider an earlier bedtime.

Keep your bedroom dark and cool - blackout blinds can help to eliminate bright lights from outside and a cool, but not cold bedroom is often the most conducive to sleep.

Reserve the bed for sleep – train your body for rest, don’t use the bed as an office, workroom or recreation room.

Exercise daily - regular exercise, particularly in the afternoon, can help deepen sleep. However, intense exercise within two hours of bedtime can make it harder to fall asleep.

Don’t smoke – smokers take longer to fall asleep, wake more frequently and often experience more sleep disruption.⁹

Dietary Advice

Eating tryptophan-rich foods can support sleep, as this amino acid helps produce serotonin and melatonin—key hormones for relaxation and sleep regulation. Choose from:

•        Wholegrains, beans, rice, lentils
•        Poultry, eggs, cottage cheese
•        Bananas, soya products
•        Hummus, sunflower seeds

Avoid sugary foods, they can disrupt sleep by causing blood sugar spikes and crashes, leading to restlessness and nighttime awakenings. Sugar also stimulates the release of cortisol, which interferes with melatonin production making it harder to sleep.¹⁰

Eat plenty of whole grains and protein with every meal, these foods promote better sleep by providing tryptophan, supporting steady blood sugar levels and aiding the production of calming neurotransmitters like serotonin.

Eat plenty of fruit and vegetables, the more variety the better.

Avoid caffeine and spicy foods, 4-6 hours before bedtime, these stimulants can affect your ability to stay asleep.

Avoid alcohol 4-6 hours before bedtime, while alcohol has an immediate sleep-inducing effect, a few hours later, as the alcohol levels in your blood start to fall, there is a stimulant or wake-up effect.

Helpful Nutrients

Key nutrients can help to improve your sleep and at the same time support collagen availability and counter oxidative stress and inflammation to support strong healthy skin. Consider including these four nutrients in your daily routine for healthy skin and better sleep:

1.         Magnesium

This mineral has a host of health benefits for sleep, most notably its contribution to muscle function. It helps regulate muscle contractions and relaxation by acting as a natural blocker to calcium, which triggers contractions. Additionally, magnesium contributes to nervous and psychological functions, playing a key role in brain pathways that support restful sleep. Individuals with insomnia or restless legs find magnesium invaluable.

1.         Vitamin C

A smooth glowing complexion relies on a healthy blood supply to carry oxygen and nutrients directly to the skin. Vitamin C plays a key role in this process by contributing to collagen production, a vital protein for the formation of strong flexible blood vessels.

2.        Probiotics

Beneficial bacteria produce short-chain fatty acids which help to regulate inflammation and enhance skin barrier function. They also help maintain immune balance, promote collagen synthesis and support skin hydration.¹¹

3.        Collagen

Collagen supports skin structure, keeping it firm and youthful while preventing sagging. As we age, collagen production declines, leading to thinner skin and wrinkles. Supplementing with collagen, especially when combined with probiotics, helps replenish levels while combating oxidative stress and inflammation for healthier, more resilient skin. 

Take Home Message

Improving sleep quality should be considered a vital part of any skincare routine. By prioritizing restful sleep you can support the body’s natural repair processes, minimize inflammation, and help maintain youthful, healthy skin for longer.

Written by: Jacqueline Newson BSc (Hons) Nutritional Therapy

REFERENCES

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1.     Alahmary SA, Alduhaylib SA, Alkawii HA, et al. Relationship Between Added Sugar Intake and Sleep Quality Among University Students: A Cross-sectional Study. American Journal of Lifestyle Medicine. 2019;16(1):122-129. doi:10.1177/1559827619870476.

1.       Tsai W H et al. Regulatory effects of Lactobacillus plantarum-GMNL6 on human skin health by improving skin microbiome. International Journal of Medical Sciences 2021, 18(5), 1114-1120. https://doi.org/10.7150/ijms.51545.