Does Sleeping On Your Side or Stomach Really Cause Wrinkles?

It might be commonly referred to as beauty sleep, but if you want smoother skin, then the way you rest your head could be contributing to unwanted lines! Who thought that something so natural and necessary as ‘sleep’, does cause a lot of problems. Firstly, it can be difficult for some to even fall or stay asleep; once you’ve actually in dreamland, you might struggle with dream issues, sleep paralysis, or sleep apnea, and if that wasn’t enough you also have to worry about things like bedhead, stinky breath and dent in your skin – this does depend on what position you sleep in. But unfortunately, unlike a temporary morning stinky breath and bedhead, your skin can have long-lasting impacts on its smoothness.

Rachel Maiman says “Sleep position can have an impact on skin, but not for everyone, and the effects are variable from person to person”. and an MD board-certified dermatologist in New York, says “those effects can include acne and sweet-induced rashes from the way their skin folds, perspires and gets compressed during sleep. And unfortunately, some people develop fine lines and wrinkles.”

Does sleeping on your stomach or side really cause wrinkles?

This may be something that you would like to not of known, but unfortunately, it’s not a myth and the position that you sleep in can be a big factor in you seeing lines and wrinkles on your skin’s surface – but isn’t the only reason instead us one of many! Connecticut-based board-certified dermatologist Deanne Mraz Robinson, MD, explains “It won’t single-handedly cause the, but these sleeping conditions can expedite and intensify wrinkles on the chest, neck and face”. She also adds that “wrinkling from sleeping position will be more obvious on more lax skin, which is why you’ll see it on an adult’s chest but rarely on a child’s”.

What is the best position to sleep in, to avoid getting lines and wrinkles?

Dr. Vasyukevic explains on realsimple.com, “that the best position all around for prolonging youthful skin is to sleep on your back. Not only does it prevent wrinkles due to the lack of wrinkle-inducing friction, it also stops the skin from feeling the pressure of you face ‘folding’ into the pillow”.

What type of pillows and pillowcases help?

We sometime don’t realise how much we rely on pillows/pillowcases for comfort, but saying that they can betray us in regardes of our skin. Dr. Maiman says “Pillow science needs to get better”, “with age, our neck and body joints need increasingly more support, but too many pillows can exacerbate these problems”.

So if someone who is struggles to sleep on your back but would like to give it try, then you may want to look into specialised pillows, that has a good cradling designs that keep you facing up while you neck in supported.

What other things can be done to help prevent sleep-induced lines and wrinkles?

Fortunately, your able to tweak your skincare routine to help battle of impact of skin friction and folding while sleeping and treat the wrinkles that may result.

Apply a retinol serum, along with face cream in either the morning or evening [don’t forget your neck and chest], will help to keep the skin cells rejuvenated, soften lines and encourage collagen production. Not only do rehydrating skincare products help to improve the appearance of your skin, but also drinking a big glass of water when you first wake up, can help to depuff and rehydrate your skin.

And in the whole grand scheme of things, while it might be a pain in the arse, the kind of positions we all feel the most comfortable may be the culprit of causing those unwanted lines and wrinkles, that you don’t want to lose sleep-over. Remember sleep is the most important factor when it comes to our overall health and this includes how your skin ages too. So if a certain sleeping position is cutting into your Zzzzs, then change position because you don’t want to prioritise a position oversleeping.

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