Can you really get wrinkles from sleeping in a certain position?
Scottsdale facelift and dermal fillers
Wrinkles and fine lines on the face are an inevitable consequence of aging, and everyone will develop them at some point. Fortunately, we do have some control over how quickly the visible signs of aging show up on our faces. Using sunscreen daily is one way to protect your facial skin and slow down the appearance of wrinkles.
Another important factor is sleep. While consistently getting enough sleep is absolutely crucial to maintaining your appearance (as well as your overall health), it turns out that there’s another way that sleep can impact your health. Your sleep position could make a big difference in how quickly you age.
Skin distortion is caused by side or stomach sleeping
When you sleep on your side, you have one side of your face pressed into your pillow. This leads to vertical lines of compression along the side of your face. You may have even seen these lines pressed into your skin when you wake up in the morning.
In younger skin, these lines quickly disappear, because the skin has high elasticity and is able to bounce back. However, as you age, the skin gradually loses its elasticity, and can no longer bounce back as quickly or completely. Slowly, the time spent in compression adds up, and the lines it causes become more and more permanent. The older people get, the less they tend to move during sleep, meaning that you spend more time with the same lines compressed into your face. This makes it even more important to address sleep position as you age.
Stomach sleeping leads to similar problems. When sleeping on the stomach, many people turn the face to one side, meaning that the issue with skin compression is the same as when sleeping on the side. Others lay with only their forehead on the pillow, leading to similar compression lines on the forehead.
In terms of slowing down facial aging, the optimal sleep position is on your back. In this position, there will be no compression lines on the skin of your face. If you’re used to a different sleep position, then it may take some time to change your habits and learn to sleep on your back. However, studies show that it will make a difference in how quickly you experience facial aging.
How can lines caused by sleep position be addressed?
Paying attention to your sleep position can help to slow down the rate of facial aging, but won’t get rid of wrinkles that have already developed. It’s important to note that the wrinkles caused by sleep position are different from those caused by movements of facial muscles. Botox will not be effective at addressing them. However, dermal fillers can be used to fill in the grooves and rejuvenate your facial appearance.
For a slightly more aggressive treatment, a series of microneedling sessions with RF energy called Morpheus8 can stimulate the production of collagen and elastin. For a single treatment option, resurfacing utilizing dermabrasion, chemical peel or fractional CO2 laser treatments can also be done.
For a more dramatic effect, a surgical facelift is also an option. This will address sleep position wrinkles along with those caused by other factors, and is the most effective facial rejuvenation method available.
Scottsdale facelift and dermal fillers
