Sleeping on your back According to Dr. Vasyukevic, the supine position is the best position all around for prolonging youthful skin. Not only does it prevent wrinkles due to the lack of wrinkle-inducing friction, it also stops the skin from feeling the pressure of your face "folding" into the pillow.
Wrinkles can become permanent with time and repetition. In a young face, wrinkling is transient with animation and sleep wrinkles disappear on awakening. The rate and severity of wrinkling varies as skin ages in response to intrinsic and extrinsic influences combined with repetition of force patterns.
"For a side sleeper, make sure to sleep with an extra-firm pillow and strategically position your head so the lower half of your face is literally off the pillow. Therefore, the face doesn't flatten out like a pancake," Rouleau suggests. It's harder to get wrinkles when your face isn't on the pillow, right?
May prevent wrinkles and lines
Back sleeping also helps keep your skin care products on your face and off of the pillowcase. By back sleeping, you avoid face-to-pillow contact and keep the neck straight, preventing the premature development or deepening of wrinkles and lines.
Specifically, sleeping on the side or back is considered more beneficial than sleeping on the stomach. In either of these sleep positions, it's easier to keep your spine supported and balanced, which relieves pressure on the spinal tissues and enables your muscles to relax and recover.
Pull your knees up slightly toward your chest. The pillow for your head should keep your spine straight. A rolled towel or small pillow under your waist may also help support your spine. Insert pillows into gaps between your body and the mattress.
If you sleep on your side or on your stomach, your face might be pressed into your pillow, causing your skin to fold up and form vertical wrinkles. Since we all spend around a third of our lives asleep, these “sleep lines” get repeatedly reinforced and etched into your skin over time, like folds in leather shoes.
Exposure to ultraviolet (UV) light.
Ultraviolet radiation, which speeds the natural aging process, is the primary cause of early wrinkling. Exposure to UV light breaks down your skin's connective tissue — collagen and elastin fibers, which lie in the deeper layer of skin (dermis).
Sleeping for 7-9 hours is vital for healthy skin. When you don't sleep enough, cortisol, the stress hormone is released in your body. This may cause inflammation, leading to an increase in skin conditions like acne or psoriasis.
Depending on these factors, wrinkles generally begin to appear in the late 30's and 40's. Sleep wrinkles often are first noticed as a diagonal line at the junction of the outer eyelid and cheekbone (different from the more horizontal “crow's-feet” expression lines).
How many hours is beauty sleep? Seven to nine quality hours of sleep per night is ideal for “beauty sleep.” If you regularly get less than six hours of sleep, you may start to see some side effects on your skin.
“Everyone wants a quick fix when it comes to making skin look better, but drinking more water isn't going to help get rid of wrinkles or plump up your skin unless you are extremely dehydrated,” says Elizabeth Damstetter, MD, a dermatologist at Rush University Medical Center in Chicago.
Exposure to light is a top cause of premature aging: Sun exposure causes many skin problems. Ultraviolet (UV) light and exposure to sunlight age your skin more quickly than it would age naturally. The result is called photoaging, and it's responsible for 90% of visible changes to your skin.
Even with perfect sunscreen use, wrinkles can't be prevented completely. Some wrinkling is hereditary, and a certain amount of wrinkles are natural to aging. Besides preventing sun damage, other habits can age skin prematurely.
Most people begin to notice a shift in the appearance of their face around their 40's and 50's, with some also noticing a change in their 30's. But with these physical changes brought on by aging also comes a change in the appearance of our face - Luckily, there is treatment available.
Even if you have a high-quality silk pillowcase that is cleaned regularly, the position in which you sleep on it could also be negatively affecting your skin. If you sleep on your stomach or even your side, your face is pushed into your pillow, which can cause you to wake up with sleep lines and wrinkles.
Benefits of a silk pillowcase
It's super soft and smooth so it doesn't pull at or crease your skin which means your silk pillowcase can help prevent the formation of wrinkles on your skin over time.
Your shoulders should not be on the pillow. Not So Great: On your side, with your legs curled up towards the chest. This does not provide spine alignment for the shoulders and neck. It also does not evenly distribute weight throughout your body and can lead you to waking up in the morning with back pain.
Sleeping without a pillow can help some people who sleep on their stomach, but it is not a good idea for everyone. People who sleep on their side or back will usually find that sleeping without a pillow puts pressure on their neck. By doing this, it can ruin a person's quality of sleep and lead to neck and back pain.
It's generally recommended to use a pillow if you sleep on your back or side. However, what's most important is that you feel comfortable and pain-free in bed. If you have neck or back pain, or if you have spine condition like scoliosis, sleeping without a pillow may be unsafe.