The science of beauty sleep: natural rest for rejuvenated and radiant skin

Sleep can be seen as a luxury in today’s busy and somehow hectic lifestyle. Because of bad habits, work stress or anxiety, late use of screens, shift work, parenting, or aging, many people worldwide are frequently experiencing shorter and disturbed nights. Did you know that every morning, approximately 4 billion people wake-up tired? Worldwide, 62% of adults feel that they do not sleep well, 67% report sleep disturbances at least once every night, and 80% want to improve their sleepⁱ​.

The need to improve our sleep quality is simple: sleep is a major pillar of health and one of the most important secrets to beauty and well-being. Sleep helps us recover from everyday stresses and prepare us for the next day as many biological processes take place. In the brain, sleep helps increase focus and creativity, enhances memory and the ability to learn complex skills, integrates new knowledge, and improves mental and emotional resilience against mental illnesses such as depression and anxiety^ii,iii​.  In the body, sleep enhances immune function, regenerates tissues and organs, improves resistance to diseases, and increases energy and strength.

When sleep is disturbed or challenged, it reduces sleep time and quality which decreases its benefits and can lead to various disorders. In the skin, regeneration, and immunity are the most affected processes^iv,v​. When those two processes are not able to be properly completed during sleep, it leads to visual signs of fatigue, which have been clearly observed and reported: drooping eyelids, dark under-eye circles, dull and more dehydrated skin, increased wrinkles, and fine lines, sagging at the corners of the mouth, reduced skin complexion, redness appearance, etc.^vi,vii​

The link between lack of sleep and skin physiology and appearance is more than ever seen by consumers: 66% of French and 58% of adults in the U.S.A think lack of sleep or fatigue has the most negative impact on skin^viii​. Today’s consumers are prepared to adopt healthier habits such as a better nighttime routine, or even use cosmetic products to help them get a more restful night and reduce stress, so it can minimize the negative effects of poor-quality sleep on skin and help to wake up feeling better and looking healthier.

To fulfill this increasing request by consumers while keeping innovation and sustainability as our key priorities, Lucas Meyer Cosmetics took a holistic approach by offering two complementary natural active ingredients, Immunight™ and Regenight™, to improve night time skin recovery by acting with a unique dual mechanism of action targeting the improvement of sleep quality by inhalation of olfactory compounds while having a direct topical action on skin properties to boost the two main biological processes affected by challenged sleep. ​

To improve the first biological process challenged by lack of sleep, the skin regeneration, we have developed Regenight™. Using specific upcycled by-product fractions from the distillation process of Australian tea tree oil and standardized in olfactory molecules to ensure reproducibility, Regenight™ boosts the expression of melatonin-associated genes providing a melatonin-like efficacy, without impacting melatonin production. Melatonin long known as the sleep hormone has also been found to be produced in other organs, including the skin where it plays a crucial role in skin protection and regeneration which takes place at night where it promotes the production of several enzymes and proteins directly linked to cellular clean-up, DNA repairs and reduction of oxidation. Providing a unique approach to reducing the impact of bad sleep on the skin, Regenight™ has a dual action through inhalation and topical action to simultaneously improve sleep quality and skin quality. Clinically tested on mild-sleep-disturbed women and men using real-life in-context technology, Regenight™ offers a combined action on both mind and skin to reduce skin aging and signs of fatigue, offering an all-in-one approach. With a single application before bedtime, Regenight™ demonstrated its multi-target action by restoring the skin barrier function and protection, improving skin hydration, firmness, and elasticity, and reducing wrinkles appearance and skin roughness while improving total sleep time and deep sleep length to improve nighttime skin regeneration and daily damage repair for rejuvenated, revitalized healthier-looking skin.

To improve the second biological process disorganized by lack of sleep, skin immunity, and inflammation, we developed Immunight™. Extracted from organically grown lavandin with a proprietary process using plant-based solvents, Immunight™ contains a unique blend of oil-soluble volatile and heavy molecules. It helps improve sleep quality due to the inhalation of olfactory compounds and simultaneously provides a direct action on the skin by stimulating the production of melatonin by skin cells, which helps regulate clock gene expression and resynchronize the skin’s circadian rhythm with a melatonin-like effect to restore a good immune response. As a result, strengthening the skin’s immune system reduces the appearance of skin redness and decreases the signs of fatigue to achieve a relaxed and radiant look after one night only.

By resolving the underlying biological causes leading to the appearance of signs of fatigue and helping to improve sleep quality, those two new approaches answer the sleep beauty trend with a holistic and natural approach while achieving overnight beauty and improving skin health. Their breakthrough dual action through inhalation and topical action improving nighttime recovery provides cosmetics manufacturers an innovative approach to an old need long searched by consumers: reducing the impact of poor sleep on skin quality, so they can wake up with a relaxed, radiant and rejuvenated look after one night only!

Authors: Magali Borel, Philippe Daigle, Senior Products Line Managers, IFF – Lucas Meyer Cosmetics.