Erase Skin Wrinkles from Sleeping on Side!

Skin wrinkles mainly appear on the skin that gets the most UV exposure, such as the face. Sometimes your sleep position may have a role. The good news, skin wrinkles from sleeping on side are usually mild, nothing more than surface lines. With appropriate ways, it’s possible to erase them or make them much less visible!

How to fix wrinkles from sleeping on side naturally?

We all know that our elastin and collagen decrease with age, that’s perfectly normal for everyone. This process will make the skin become thinner in time. Also, your skin becomes less resistant to damage. Combined with other factors (air pollutants, UV rays exposure, poor diet, genetics (some people wrinkle more), and your skin type), all would make you have pronounced folds in the skin!

Even though it is a natural part of aging, there are plenty of options to slow the process. It’s hard to get back your 20s skin firmness, but with appropriate strategies you should be able to erase your sleep wrinkles (especially if they are mild).

Sleep on your back!

Sometimes your sleep position does have a role to provoke some wrinkling on the face. This is called ‘compression’ in which your head causes pressure against the pillow in almost the same way every night.

This prolonged pressure may leave your skin weaker in some spots, making wrinkles more likely [1]. In such case, you need to reduce that pressure — go sleep with various positions!

Image credit to the Aesthetic Surgery Journal

Probably it’s hard to control your sleep positions during sleep. But you can make the position most likely on your back. Here are a few tips:

Uses some pillows to help hold your position. For instance, try putting a pillow under each your arm.
If you have back pain, sleeping on the back may provoke the pain. In such case, try putting a rolled-up towel or a pillow under your knees to help support proper alignment of your spine!
If necessary, try with positioning pillows. As the name suggests, these pillows are specifically designed to help keep you on certain position during sleep.

But again, this doesn’t mean you need to keep on one position all night long. A variety of sleep positions may be necessary. But when it comes to dealing with sleep wrinkles, sleeping on the back should be your dominant position for slumber.

Cut out alcohol and cigarette smoking!

Alcohol is not only bad for your liver, making it work harder – but also would take a serious threat on your skin health. It makes your skin lose the balance of its moisture, provoking skin dryness. Even if heavy drinking has become a regular thing, this could be powerful enough to make your fine lines and wrinkles look more noticeable, which is particularly true if you have naturally dry skin.

Also, heavy drinking has a role to cause increased free radical in the body, leading to oxidative stress. And oxidative stress is a nightmare for youthful looking, because it can factor into premature aging, studies suggest [2].

The similar effects come from cigarette smoking. Tobacco smoke is the bad of hell things, which some may factor into oxidative stress. It may also weaken your body’s antioxidant defense systems [3]. Even sometimes the secondhand smoke is also powerful enough to ruin and age your facial skin prematurely.

Natural remedies

Nature provides plenty of choices to help promote skin firmness. You can use some to help erase your sleep wrinkles. Here are the best goodies to try.

Lemon balm leaf extract is one of new alternative holistic options to help deal with skin wrinkles. It has certain potent substances to help fight against pentosidine formation [4]. Pentosidine is an advanced end product of glycation, which has a role in aging phenomena. With this potential benefit, it would make your face more elastic and firmness. It may also help correct tissue damage.

Topical application with lemon balm is likely safe for most adults (especially in short-term). But do a patch-test first to keep safe, because it might also cause negative reactions such as skin irritation.

There are many essential oils to choose from to provide skin health benefits. Unfortunately, not all of them are backed by science. But don’t worry, some do provide improvements on skin wrinkles.

The main ones with the most scientific data are lemon, sandalwood, clary sage, lavender, and pomegranate essential oils. The second options are probably ylang-ylang, carrot seed, Frankincense, and rosemary essential oils. Which is the best one? A little homework is usually required since there is no single formula for everyone. The results may vary widely between individuals.

Also, always use essential oil with carrier oil (e.g. coconut oil, olive oil, avocado oil, and almond oil). Undiluted essential oil is very high in concentration, which may hurt your skin. And since the face is usually sensitive area, do your topical treatment carefully. Do a patch test first!

Aloe is commonly used in many traditional medications. It has healing properties, which some may work on skin wrinkles. A Korean study showed that applying aloe on the skin might effectively reduce the appearance of wrinkles [5].

Also, it’s clear that aloe can help keep the skin hydrated. See more skin health benefits from aloe in this section!

Eat right for free-wrinkles!

The link between diet and sleep wrinkles is not fully understood yet. Still, eating right is incredibly vital for your overall health, including the skin.

Countless anecdotal reports show that certain foods have an effect in improving fine lines and surface wrinkles. While these reports are ample, it’s not always easy to find some that do have an effect to improve your youthful looking.

For your best chance, the following foods are most likely to be the first choices in your natural skin care diet – these foods have benefits based on sound scientific research:

Fatty foods are bad for you skin. But the story is different for essential fatty acids (e.g. omega-3 fatty acids). These healthy fats are required to help nourish skin, carrying youthful and plumping effects [6].

And salmon is good source for omega-3 fatty acids. It’s also loaded with protein, an important building block of your skin. Eating salmon and other fatty cold-water fish in moderation is also a good thing for your heart health.

Avocado is high in healthy fats. Plus, it is loaded with other skin-nourishing nutrients such as antioxidants (vitamin E and beta-carotene), minerals, and other goodness.

What’s more? Avocado is also packed of the antioxidant glutathione. Glutathione plays a role in preventing acne and wrinkles. It is an anti-aging agent since it can help detoxify your body [7].

Isoflavones are an active compound found in soy. This substance, which is also a class of phytoestrogens, may have a role in protecting the skin. Some clinical trials suggest that it might help reduce wrinkles, though more comprehensive studies are required on this [8].

Eating soy and soy products in moderation would reduce the risk of fine lines. Also, soy (when topically applied on the skin or taken as supplement) may help protect the skin from sun damage or erase certain aspects of photo-aged skin.

What’s more? Again, there are many foods for your skin goodness. Since each food has unique skin-nourishing properties, don’t rely on certain foods. Instead, eat also a wide range of the following healthy skin boosting foods!

What’s more?	Why?
Almonds	Rich in healthy, unsaturated fatty acids and vitamin E (key ingredients to boost healthy skin).
Walnuts	Contain both omega-3 and omega-6 fatty acids.
Flax seeds	Have ALA, alpha-linolenic acid, which is a kind of omega-3 fatty acid. It may help increase skin hydration and promote smoother skin.
Sunflower seeds	Contain protective fatty oils, vitamin E, and zinc — all are good for your skin health.
Green tea	Has an active compound called catechins, a powerful antioxidant! It may also help improve blood flow to the skin.
Cocoa	It can be your best, tasty wrinkle-free breakfast drink. It has two powerful antioxidants, catechin and epicatechin, which are good for several skin benefits.
Egg whites	Egg whites are high in protein and free of cholesterol. They might also help increase collage, though the evidence is inconclusive yet.

On the other hand, say no for ‘too much caffeine’ and restrict refined /processed foods high in saturated fats, refined sugars, & carbs. Also, avoid any harsh chemicals (topical products containing additives, for example)!

What else?

Did you know that UV ray exposure is one of the leading causes for wrinkles and other signs of aging skin? So wear sunscreen for any outdoor activity, with SPF of at least 30!
Keep hydrated to maintain the balance of your skin moisture!
Keep your face clean, but don’t over-wash it!
Have a good night’s rest! Your sleep wrinkles are likely to look more clearly with sleep deprivation. Get 7-8 hours of sleep every day to rejuvenate your skin optimally!

Treatments for skin wrinkles from sleeping on side

Sometimes sleep wrinkles are difficult to remove with lifestyle measures and home remedies mentioned above. In such case, (if necessary) consider taking some kind of treatment to help deal with!

A number of treatment options are available to help minimize the appearance of sleep wrinkles. Some are also effective enough to erase them. These include: