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Beauty sleep is real. During sleep, the skin regenerates as it does through nothing else – no active, no supplement, no medication comes close to a good night’s rest.
Sleep is one of the most important levers for a long and healthy life. That it also plays a decisive role for the skin is frequently underestimated – even though the signs are obvious. You can see whether a person has slept well or not. As a dermatologist, other people’s skin is my constant visual atlas. When I see the skin of someone who has just been on a long-haul overnight flight without sleeping, I see skin that looks exhausted and ten years older than it is. The skin registers acute sleep deprivation immediately and without equivocation. Chronic sleep deprivation, accumulated over years, it registers just as mercilessly – with deeper, more numerous wrinkles and accelerated skin aging.
During sleep, all cells regenerate – including those of the skin. Things are put in order: fluid balance is restored, tissue pressure in the skin layers rises, water retention improves, fine lines diminish. The result after a well-slept night is visible: smoother, fresher, more vital skin. For the wellbeing of our cells, nature has no more powerful tool than sleep. I know of no behaviour, no therapy, no supplement that comes close to the power of sleep. Sleep also has an enormous immunological effect: while we sleep, our immune system runs at full capacity.
Interestingly – and perhaps surprisingly for many – sleep quality matters more than sleep duration. Six hours of good sleep is better than nine hours of poor sleep, though a minimum of six hours should not be undercut. That there are phases when sleep does not come easily is normal. What matters is looking for the causes. Important: sleeping pills are not a long-term solution – they treat only symptoms and can even worsen the underlying problem.
Caffeine has a half-life of four hours. Someone who drinks coffee at 3 pm still has around 25 percent of that caffeine in their system at 11 pm. In those with high caffeine sensitivity – which can increase with age – these residual levels can be enough to significantly disrupt sleep.
Alcohol is counterproductive for night sleep. The so-called nightcap does not actually help. You may fall asleep faster, but you sleep worse – because alcohol suppresses REM sleep and deep sleep and disrupts the normal progression of sleep phases.
Blue light from screens – laptops, tablets, mobile phones – can significantly disrupt the sleep-wake cycle when it reaches the retina in the evening, as it suppresses melatonin release. A book is ideal – and there are few finer moments at the end of the day than falling asleep in bed over a book.
Melatonin is frequently overestimated. It is a timing signal, not a sleep trigger. When darkness sets in, it is released and signals to the body that it is time to sleep. But it does not bring us to sleep. Taking melatonin tablets in isolation amounts – apart from perhaps as an aid for jet lag – to a placebo effect. What actually makes us tired are two other mechanisms: our internal 24-hour clock, the circadian rhythm, and the adenosine level that rises throughout the day, generating sleep pressure. During sleep, adenosine is broken down – and the pressure subsides. More on this in Chapter 2 of my book – How to Look Better: 10 Maximen für eine schöne Haut und ein besseres Leben.