Link between Sleep Deprivation and Skin Aging

Estée Lauder Clinical Trial Finds Link between Sleep Deprivation and Skin Aging While we’ve long known that lack of good quality sleep can have a large impact on human health, a first-of-its-kind clinical trial conducted by physician-scientists at University Hospitals (UH) Case Medical Center and commissioned by Estée Lauder confirms that sleep quality impacts skin function [...]

Estée Lauder Clinical Trial Finds Link between Sleep Deprivation and Skin Aging

While we’ve long known that lack of good quality sleep can have a large impact on human health, a first-of-its-kind clinical trial conducted by physician-scientists at University Hospitals (UH) Case Medical Center and commissioned by Estée Lauder confirms that sleep quality impacts skin function and aging. Poor sleepers had increased signs of skin aging and slower recovery from a variety of environmental stressors, such as disruption of the skin barrier and ultraviolet (UV) exposure. Poor sleepers also had worse assessment of their own skin and facial appearance.

“Our study, The Effects of Sleep Quality on Skin Aging and Function, is the first to conclusively demonstrate that inadequate sleep is correlated with reduced skin health and accelerates skin aging. Sleep deprived women show signs of premature skin aging and a decrease in their skin’s ability to recover after sun exposure,” said Dr. Elma Baron, Director of the Skin Study Center at UH Case Medical Center and Associate Professor of Dermatology at Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine. “Insufficient sleep has become a worldwide epidemic. While chronic sleep deprivation has been linked to medical problems such as obesity, diabetes, cancer and immune deficiency, its effects on skin function have previously been unknown.”

The study involved a visual skin evaluation and participation in several non-invasive skin challenge tests including UV light exposure and skin barrier disruption. Additionally, participants filled out a sleep log for one week to quantify sleep duration. The researchers found statistically significant differences between good and poor quality sleepers, the headline being that good quality sleepers recovered more efficiently from stressors to the skin.

“This research shows for the first time, that poor sleep quality can accelerate signs of skin aging and weaken the skin’s ability to repair itself at night,” said Dr. Daniel Yarosh, Senior Vice President, Basic Science Research, R&D, at The Estée Lauder Companies.  “These connections between sleep and skin aging, now supported with solid scientific data, will have a profound effect on how we study skin and its functions.  We see these findings as yet another way we can direct our scientific research toward the real needs of our customers who want to look and feel their best.”

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