Sleep Habits a Highly Effective Acne Solution

How your sleep habits can affect your acne for the better.

Maggie Holly

Sure, getting a good night's rest can contribute to your overall health and, in turn, improve your skin tone, but there are many other ways to improve your acne...while you're sleeping.

Have you ever stripped your pillowcase from your pillow and wondered why your pillow had turned a sickly shade of yellow?  If you're like most people, you just assume that it's saliva from those nights when you sleep with your mouth hanging open.

Actually, if you look closely, most of the time, pillows are yellowed from sweat, facial oils and oils from your hair that seep through the pillow case over time.  It's amazing how quickly pillows can turn yellow for people with especially oily skin and hair.

This oil, over time, attracts bacteria and dead skin cells that contribute to acne.  In fact, many people can see a dramatic improvement in their skin by just changing their pillowcases more frequently.  We change our clothes on a daily basis why not change our pillowcases as often?

If you're experiencing body acne, you may try changing your sheets regularly, too.  Sure, changing the sheets on your bed every day may be a little more effort than you're willing to put forth, but give it a shot and see if your acne improves after a week or two.  Simply testing out possible causes for your acne helps to eliminate the things that are not contributing to your acne.

The key point here is to keep these oils and dirt as far away from your acne-prone skin as possible. Another way to do this at night is to try sleeping with a long-sleeved shirt.  Many people sleep on one arm and transfer dirt, perspiration and oil from their arms to their faces all night long.  If you sleep on your arm, try keeping your arms covered for one week and see what happens. Sleeping with your hand tucked under the side of your face is a big no-no as well. Aside from wearing gloves, your only option is to just keep your hands away from your face while sleeping. Either tuck your hand under your pillow or under the covers.

Facial scrubs and masks are abundant at the grocery store and drugstore, and many of them can help to repair your skin if left on over night.  Be sure to look for oil-free products or, even better, create your own mask or scrub by combining several natural ingredients including lemon juice, sugar, cinnamon, nutmeg, and oatmeal.

Showering before bed can also help to begin a long night of rejuvination for your skin.  People who shower before bed wash all of the oils and dirt off of, not only their face, but also their hair, which has a tendency to touch the face while sleeping.  A hot, steamy shower also opens the pores and allows them to breathe so they are more likely to release dirt and oil during sleep.

One way to eliminate the problem with your hair oils contaminating the pores on your face is to always be sure to wear your hair up and away from your face while sleeping. If you have long hair, you can tie it back. If your hair isn't long enough to tie back, consider using a clean, cotton-based fabric headband. Or, keep your hair trimmed so that it's not in your face.

These are a few ways you can help fight acne in your sleep. It may seem like a lot of effort, but if you suffer from acne anything as simple as changing a pillowcase is worth a try to get beautiful, glowing skin.