Beauty sleep? Plastic surgeon designs pillow to reduce signs of aging
Product inventor, Dr Goesel Anson , says that on a traditional pillow, compression of the face during sleep causes facial skin to be stretched, pushed and pulled all night long, whilst side and stomach sleepers are most likely to develop sleep wrinkles which worsen over time due to repetition.
“I see sleep wrinkles every day in my practice,” says Dr Anson, who specializes in aesthetic plastic surgery of the face.
“My patients are often surprised to learn there are two types of wrinkles on their faces: those caused by expression and those caused by facial distortion from pillow contact during sleep,” she adds.
Anson’s Sleep Wrinkle Pillow JuveRest features a contoured shape specifically designed to minimize facial contact with the pillow, whilst providing proper head and neck support in both the back and side sleeping positions for a comfortable night’s sleep.
Considering that most people spend approximately one-third of their lives sleeping, those who sleep on their sides or stomach will most likely develop sleep wrinkles, which deepen over time. “The only way to avoid sleep wrinkles is to stop sleeping on your face,” says Anson.
The JuveRest product seeks to minimize sleep wrinkles by reducing facial contact with the pillow during sleep.
Not the first link
It is not the first time that skin aging and sleep have been linked in the last few weeks. New research carried out by scientists at the University Hospitals Medical Center and commissioned by Estée Lauder demonstrated that poor sleep quality impacts both skin function and signs of aging.
The study showed that poor sleepers had increased signs of skin aging and slower recovery from a variety of environmental stress factors, including disruption of the skin barrier and ultraviolet radiation.
Likewise, when asked to assess how they perceived their skin and complexion, poor sleepers also had a considerably worse opinion of their skin and facial appearance than those who did not have sleep issues.
“Our study 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. Baron, director of the Skin Study Center at UH Case Medical Center.
