In an interview with the Vegetarian Times, Dermatologist Extraordinaire Dr. Wendy Roberts underscores the importance of sleep to look and feel healthy and refreshed. “Sleep gives your skin the chance to repair and rejuvenate itself. It’s much-needed R&R for your skin,” says Dr. Roberts, an assistant clinical professor at Loma Linda University School of Medicine and a renowned dermatologist in private practice in Rancho Mirage, CA.
In the same vein, Dr. Roberts shares that the effect of insufficient sleep will show all over your face. An adult human body generally needs 8 to 10 hours of rest for the cells to replenish. According to another clinical instructor at the University of California, San Francisco Dr. Min-Wei Christine Lee, lack of sleep also impedes lymphatic activity: critical to the body’s ability to drain off toxins and maintain a healthy immune system. Hence, after having insufficient or lousy sleep, it is not surprising to wake up puffy and sallow with dark circles under your eyes.
The two California Dermatologists concur that it is not all about quantity, but the quality of sleep is very important as well. Dr. Roberts says that you have to fight off gravity while you sleep, that is, to reverse at night what gravity does during the day. “Gravity affects how old you look. When you sleep on your back, you actually diminish its effect on your face,” she adds. Indeed, the best way to beat the gravitation pull is to sleep on your back – not the habit of sleeping face down.
Dr. Roberts also discourages about sleeping with your makeup on as it hinders your face from “breathing”. It will lead to clogging of pores and eventually acne, as accumulation of skin oils, dirt, and makeup would build up on a daily basis and culminate at bedtime.
Other “good sleep for healthy skin” suggestions quoted from either Dr. Lee or Dr. Roberts include:
— Give your face a thorough cleansing before sleeping.
— Give your hair a good brushing to remove leftover gel, spray or mousse.
— As extra protection if you are acne-prone, cover your pillow at night with a white, 100 percent cotton towel.
— If insomnia is the problem, it’s often treatable and may take only a little change of routine by you and or your bedmate.
— Limit the bedroom to sleeping and sex—no balancing the checkbook or using the laptop in bed.
— Become sleep-etiquette savvy. A spouse who gets up several times a night should sleep closer to the door. If one partner is a tosser-and-turner, consider getting a larger bed, separate blankets or even separate beds.
— Control the room temperature. Being too warm or too cold can interfere with your sleep.
— At dinner, avoid spicy foods – they can cause nighttime indigestion.
— Skip afternoon naps and evening caffeine.
— Don’t overdo alcohol – it can make you drowsy too early and then wake you up in the wee hours.
— Exercise during the day as it helps you sleep at night. Just be sure you work out several hours before bedtime; any closer and exercise can rev you up when you’re trying to wind down.
— Go to bed and get up at about the same time every day, including weekends, to establish a healthy sleeping pattern.
Essentially, it is the habit you form on a regular basis that makes you own a rested and refreshed look, because of the ideal amount of sleep you indulge in. Dr. Roberts is a Double Board Certified Dermatologist with widely known expertise in Cosmetic Dermatology, Generational (Geriatric) Dermatology™ and Ethnic Skin of Color. She was dubbed by Glamour Magazine as a “rock-star dermatologist” and since 2005 has been voted as “Best Doctor” by the Palm Springs Life Magazine for seven consecutive years.
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