WHAT IS BEAUTY SLEEP?

We all know a great night’s sleep is essential for feeling energized and alert (and for our overall health), but getting quality shut-eye can also help you look better in the morning—and beyond. “Rest is essential for repairing skin,’ says Debra Jaliman, M.D., a dermatologist in New York City and the author of Skin Rules, giving it the opportunity to recover from damage caused by both external factors (i.e., UV rays and pollution) and internal ones (lifestyle habits like smoking and diet). “When we sleep, the level of our stress hormone, cortisol, goes down, and our sleep hormone, melatonin, goes up, which puts our body and our skin in repair mode,” explains Whitney Bowe, M.D., a New York dermatologist and the author of Dirty Looks: The Secret to Beautiful skin. Growth hormone, produced during deep sleep, plays a role in protein synthesis, which helps our bodies heal damage to cells, including skin, says W. Chris Winter, M.D., a sleep medicine specialist in Charlottesville, VA.