Sleep Wrinkles: How Sleeping Positions and Pillowcases Can Contribute to Wrinkle Formation, and How to Prevent Them

You have probably heard the term, “Beauty sleep is real”. There is no reason to doubt or challenge you people are quite accustomed to believing this saying. But what if I told you that your slumber could also be secretly working against your beauty? Yes, I am talking about sleep wrinkles—those bizarre yet annoying lines that stubbornly strike across a person’s face when he or she is asleep and are actually caused by the way one positions their face on the pillows. Sounds crazy, right? But it’s true! Join me and let’s look at some of the effects of your sleep, including how the materials you wrap around yourself at night, on your skin and more importantly how such lines can be avoided.

Why do people get Sleep Wrinkles?

Let us agree on one crucial point in the beginning – what is the problem here? Sleep wrinkles are defined as the wrinkles developed as a result of the pillows’ pressure and friction exerted on a person’s face whilst sleeping. These wrinkles differ from expression wrinkles, which appear because of a number of smiley or unsettling actions like frowning, sneering, squinting facial movements. Sleep wrinkles on the other hand, happen all day while you are asleep due to the fact that the skin is compressed over long hours of sleep.

They are cheek bones’ grooves and forehead folds. If you're a side sleeper or stomach sleeper, there is a high chance you will wake up with a few more of those ‘lovely’ lines each day. As a result of these temporary lines becoming permanent, these creases tend to happen when a lot of elastin which helps the skin ‘bounce’ back becomes lost.

Sleeping Positions: Are You A Side Sleeper Or A Stomach Sleeper?

Let's be honest for a moment - we all have our own sleeping schedule/position. Some of us probably sleep like the starfish arm position while some pull shade as if viewed on a baby. Some unfortunate ones remain with their face down, in between the pillow. But lucky for you if your sleeping position is lying on your back, Huraah! That's the jackpot in the enviable race called wrinkle development. For the rest of us, sleeping on the side or even the stomach sleeping positions are quite inhospitable and can result into sleep wrinkles.

Adopting a side position during sleep encourages the face to be pressed against the pillow for hours. With this pressure comes skin folding at the face and consequently the development of creases. They do not have it easy either as their whole face is deep down into the pillow. After a while, that kind of pressure will start to wear down collagen and elastin in the skin, which explains why those wrinkles will be easier to form as one grows older.

A test of sorts: For example, you wake up and notice some creases or lines on your face on your face which you most certainly did not have the previous night. You might be having sleep wrinkles.

Pillow Talk: How Your Pillowcase Plays a Role

We have talked about sleeping positions, now let us move to the things you are actually sleeping on – the pillowcase. The material of the pillowcase would even determine if you are likely to wake up with plump skin or many deeper folds on your face, heavy with wrinkles.

Most of us use cotton pillowcases, and while cotton is soft and allowed to breathe, on the other hand, it is not the most compatible with the skin. This creates a problem because cotton pillowcases can get stuck to the skin making movements at night difficult. This makes it difficult to avoid sleep wrinkles as the skin is pulled and pushed against. With time, such activities would over- rub the surface in such a manner as to deepen the existing lines, making them irreversible in the short term.

The Scientific Explanation: How Exactly Compression Harms the Skin

To put on my scientific hat for a minute (don't worry, it won't be that boring!), the skin is made up of three main layers. They're the epidermis (which is the top most layer of skin), the dermis (which is the middle layer of skin, where the collagen and elastin live) and the hypodermis (fatty layer - deepest lying). If you are to rest your face on a pillow, the facial skin is compressed and this skin pinch forces its respective dermis layer which contains collagen and elastin fibers beyond its normal limits and causes skin damage which in this case is collagen and elastin fibrosis.

Elastic and collagen fiber is grime like ensuring one has sustained puffy and firm skin. These fibres in some ways are the elastic principle as far as people emotions manipulation is concerned. It makes emotions less active or skews them, hence repair makes one free of any folds – facial or sleep.

Prevention: How to Fight Back Against Sleep Wrinkles

Fine, we know the reasons for these sleep wrinkles, now let’s move on to discussing the preventative techniques in detail. The good thing is, you don’t have to give up sleep (phew!). Instead, a few adjustments to your routine and sleeping surroundings can do the trick. If you wake up with the hope of having smoother skin and a youthful look, here are some measures that you can follow:

• Change Your Sleeping Position

This one might be the most obvious but also the hardest for many of us to change. If you can’t bear lying down on your back the whole night, consider trying to sleep on your belly or on your right side. Avoiding having your face buried in a pillow is the best way to keep sleep wrinkles away since you’re not placing weight on your face. It’s very difficult to change a habit you’ve had for so many years, but even on days when you pick to rest on your back as the most dominant position, chances of getting such wrinkles are very low.

If staying on your back the entire night seems to be a hurdle for you, you can make use of pillows to support yourself in an upright posture or buy an anti-wrinkle pillow. Yes, those do exist! These types of pillows have a unique contour to minimize face pressure and also encourage a person to stay on their back during sleep.

• Invest on Silk or Satin Pillowcase

If you still feel that changing your sleeping position is out of question, it pays to get a silk or satin pillowcase for your head. It can be observed that silk and satin pillowcases are less coarse as compared to sleeping on a cotton. A silk pillow will simply let your face slide all the way up to the surface without yanking or tugging at your skin. This can not only mitigate the chances of getting sleep wrinkles but also help in reducing hair breakage and bed head!

As a bonus? Silk pillow covers are also not easily affected with dust mites and other allergens which is good news for sensitive skin people.

• Moisturize, Moisturize, Moisturize

One of the best practices to shield yourself from all types of wrinkles including the sleep wrinkles is to keep your skin moistureized. Wrinkles as a result of sagging of the skin mostly occurs in skin types that are dry because such skin does not have enough oils or moisture that can provide fullness and elasticity to the skin. Apply a moisturizing night cream, lotion, or serum that contains hyaluronic acid, glycerin, peptides, etc before going to sleep. These make it faster to retain moisture and stimulate the production of collagen so that the face skin remains smooth without any signs of wrinkles.

You may also consider using sleeping masks not as an eye covering but, as a moisture retaining layer over the skin. These can be a wonderful overnight treatment to help add some extra moisture.

• Try Making Facial Massage or Employ Facial Roller

A gentle facial massage or a face roller before going to bed helps in enhancing blood flow and lymphatic drainage to avoid puffiness as well as help the skin recover from any creases formed during sleep. Use pushing motions always upwards, emphasize the areas where wrinkles occur. You can even do this in conjunction with your night cream for an extra treat!

• Soft Anti-Wrinkle Pillow Pillows

Among other smart ideas in this field, there is also for such pads to be simply anti-wrinkle pillow pads. These are pads made from silicone or gel which are applied to the skin of the forehead or cheeks or other areas before bed to prevent wrinkles. They reduce pressure on your skin and protect it from the pillow to prevent any formation of wrinkles.

To Conclude: Let It Be the Last Thing Whipping You Out!

Although sleep wrinkles appeal like one additional thing your skin care treatment targets, one must note that speedy measures would not be a solution for those problems. Minor tweaks in your regimen, such as sleeping back or changing to a silk pillow case, can go such a long way with time. On top of that, who does not like the extra delight of having silk against their skin while sleeping?

At the end of the day (or, as it were, at the end of the night), it is a ‘compromise’. You need your dream hours, you want your skin to look beautiful too. Well, most of you can do that with a bit of adjustment. So go ahead, hit the snooze button and I don't mean to emphasize don't do that in sproing when picking the snooze, don't leave any of the wrinkles to come in. Sleep Tight and Look Radiant when you wake up.