Sleep wrinkles are really real!

Sleep wrinkles are really real!

Sleep may not always help our facial wrinkles...

It’s now clear… facial distortions created by pressure on our pillows when we sleep on our sides or stomach, can lead to the development of sleep wrinkles over time!

I have long suggested to a few of my patients that some of their facial lines were caused by their sleep positions. These were the funny wrinkles some people get that didn’t fit with usual lines of facial expression. Other patients may complain that they have more wrinkles on one side of the face than the other. I would always ask them how they sleep at night, on which side they slept on, and then, yes … those extra wrinkles are present on the side of their favourite sleeping position!  So, these are real lines that we do see in our mirrors, and now there is a new study that properly quantifies them for the first time, giving us real evidence for their existence and cause.

The new study led by US plastic surgeon, Dr. Goesel Anson, just published in the Aesthetic Surgery Journal, the peer-reviewed publication of the American Society for Aesthetic Plastic Surgery (ASAPS), indicates that over time, repetitive compression, tension, and shear forces applied to the face when people sleep on their sides and stomach, do cause facial skin distortions leading to the development of sleep wrinkles.

Repetitive shear, tension and compression forces cause wrinkles

Facts and figures from the Sleep Wrinkle study

Sleep wrinkles:

1. Form in response to distortion of skin created when the face is pressed against any sleep surface, because of mechanical compression during sleep.
2. Worsen over time due to repetition, combined with the thinning and decreased elasticity of the skin as we age.
3. Are influenced by the amount of time spent in various sleep positions.
4. Our initial sleep position is a conscious decision, but we change positions throughout the night unconsciously.
5. The number of position shifts decreases as we age from 27 to 16 per night, with an average of about 20 position shifts each night.
6. Sleep positions vary:
• Side (Lateral) sleep position is the most common – averaging 65%
• Back (Supine) position – 30%
• Stomach (Prone) position – 5%

Sleep positions vary during the night

Where to find them

Most sleep wrinkles tend to be perpendicular to expression wrinkles and can be seen commonly on the forehead (lateral oblique forehead crease, radial orbital crease), lips and mouth (nasal/lip crease, corner lip crease, oblique marionette crease) and cheeks (lateral {vertical} malar crease, medial cheek crease, inferior vertical cheek crease) and in front of the ears (preauricular crease). Only some sleep wrinkle patterns can reinforce the usual facial expression lines.

Sleep wrinkles may develop on the forehead, cheeks, around the eyes, nose, lips and mouth

Sleep wrinkles don’t respond significantly to animation, and as a result, unlike facial expression wrinkles caused by muscle contractions, sleep wrinkles can’t be improved using Botulinum Toxin treatments.

How can you limit sleep wrinkles if you think you have them?

1. Limit facial distortion and compression during sleep 
• Avoid sleeping in the side and face down positions - if you can stay on your back, that’s ideal! 
• It is extremely difficult to consciously change sleep patterns, but there are speciality pillows available that may help achieve that.
2. Protect your skin and optimise skin health
• Use proper sunscreen – SPF 50+ (UVB cover), broad spectrum (UVA,UVC cover), maximal water resistance (4hrs)
• Quit cigarette smoking – impairs circulation to skin (restorative) and accelerates oxidative stress
• Optimise nutrition
• Optimise hydration of your skin – adequate water intake and use of mositurisers, especially before sleep!
3. Maximising topical skin care therapy to strengthen and restructure your skin – control and counter many of the variables that influence skin ageing
• Vitamins A, B3, C, E
• Fruit acids
• Antioxidants 
• DNA repair enzymes and growth factors
4. Dermal fillers can temporarily improve wrinkles of any type
5. Collagen stimulating or skin-tightening treatments may decrease sleep wrinkles
• Non-invasive treatments which promote collagen production 
6. Botulinum Toxins (like Botox, Dysport, Xeomin), won’t have much effect on these wrinkles since they are not caused by excessive muscle contractions

So if you really think your sleep wrinkles are real, please do contact us to discuss how we can help to heal them for you!