Boost Your Beauty Sleep: Top Sleeping Masks And Tips

June 23, 2021

By Team Picky

Sleep is crucial, that’s a given. But what can we do to boost our beauty sleep? Or is beauty sleep just a myth?Let’s learn some more with our top sleeping masks and sleeping facts and tips from Picky Expert and Doctor Stella!

What Our Skin Does While We Sleep

Ever heard of the term ‘circadian rhythm?’ Basically, it helps our body regulate our daily sleep-wake schedule. When it’s bright outside, a hormone called melatonin decreases, keeping us awake. Then, as it gets darker at night, our brain releases more melatonin that triggers us to feel drowsy and ready to call it a day. Besides being a sleep hormone, melatonin offers antioxidant properties that help counteract damage to the skin throughout the day by neutralizing free radicals from external stressors like smoking, air pollution and UV rays.

During the first few hours of sleep, another hormone called human growth hormone is secreted. Thanks to this hormone, our skin goes into its repair-and-regeneration mode. It also helps to stimulate cell production and collagen synthesis that makes the skin firm and plump.

Then, enter the stress hormone aka cortisol. When we rest, the cortisol level in our body naturally drops, thus muscle relaxes, blood flow improves, and core temperature gradually cools down. These allow our skin to rest and recover, leaving us with a healthy glow in the morning.

Not Getting Enough Sleep?

Sleeping is the time when our skin finally gets that much needed cellular repair. That being said, a lack of sleep can cause a wide variety of negative effects to your skin health. A few of the obvious ones are signs of fatigue around our eyes, such as hanging eyelids, red eyes and dark, under-eye circles.

Another well known aftermath of inadequate sleep is development of acne. If we don’t rest, our body undergoes constant stress. As a consequence, our cortisol level remains high which interferes the skin’s natural ability to recover. In addition to that, excess cortisol ramps up the production of sebum that may clog the pores and cause breakouts. Along with elevated cortisol, lack of sleep can damage the structure of collagen in our skin as well. This will develop into signs of premature ageing, such as skin sagging and the appearance of fine lines and wrinkles. You also might experience skin that is dry and flaky, red and inflamed, or extra shiny. It may also feel tight and itchy.

In short, they are all the things we don’t wish to happen to our skin. Trust me, it is not worth the sacrifice. Especially not for some TV series you can watch the next day.

Beauty Sleep Tips

Get 7 to 9 hours of sleep each night.
Always go to bed with a clean face.
Give your skin extra hydration before bed.
Create an ideal sleep environment—quiet, dark, cool temperature.
Put your gadgets away at least 30 minutes before bedtime.
Change your pillowcase every few days or once a week.
Sleep on your back to prevent formation of sleep wrinkles.

Top Sleeping Masks

Alright now it’s time to highlight our favorite sleeping masks! We break it down by skin type and skin concern, so check it out to find the right one for you.

Oily Skin
Laneige – Water Sleeping Mask

Combination Skin
Youth To The People – Superberry Hydrate + Glow Dream Mask

Dry Skin
Origins – Drink Up Intensive Overnight Mask

Aging Skin
Fresh – Black Tea Firming Overnight Mask

Irritated Skin
Skinfix – Redness Treatment Overnight Mask

Acne Prone Skin
Allies Of Skin – Promise Keeper Blemish Sleeping Facial

Dull Skin
Glow Recipe – Watermelon Glow Sleeping Mask

Pigmented or Uneven Skin
Some By Mi – 30 Day Miracle Brightening Sleeping Mask

Damaged Skin
Abib – Rice Probiotics Overnight Mask Barrier Jelly

More Sleeping Masks?

Hungry for more sleeping masks? You can find many more on the Picky app by just searching or reading through Discuss to see which masks people are buzzing about! We love helping skincare enthusiasts and newbies alike find what works best for their skin! So make sure to use all the fun features and functions the Picky app has to offer! Follow our Instagram for even more skincare science content and our YouTube channel!