The Importance of Nighttime Repair

By Amber Woods 

One of the coolest things about our skin is its abilities to heal itself.  How many times have you watched a cut scab over and disappear? Or a burn heal and fade?  Or even pimples come and go? 

Our bodies are brilliantly designed to know exactly what to do to repair themselves.  Imbalance and disease can be a wrench in the wondrous works, but generally your body wants to heal and be well, and knows what to do.  

While our systems have these natural physiological actions, we also have to provide the fuel to keep them going.  The better quality fuel, the better the function. That’s why what we feed ourselves inside and out, and what habits we keep, have such an impact on our skin health.  

One of our body’s main functions of repair is sleep.  We spend almost ⅓ of our time sleeping, whether we like it or not, and that is because our body has to recharge.  And it’s while we sleep that a lot of repair work can get done. Your body’s energy and resources aren’t being used for active digestion or physical exertion, and can be directed toward healing itself.  When it comes to skin, nighttime repair is so important. Have you ever noticed that when you wake your breakouts tend to be less inflamed or your skin generally calmer? It’s had a chance to do some healing without any interruptions.  

Although our skin can do a lot on its own, one of the best things you can do is set it up with optimal repair conditions before you go to bed.  I’d like to share 4 tips for how to prepare your skin for ultimate nighttime repair.  

1.  Relax Your Mind.  Part of the repair process is getting quality sleep.  Allowing your mind to unwind before bed will help you get better z’s.  Make yourself a cup of chamomile tea. Opt for reading instead of television.  Put away your screens at least 30 minutes before it’s time to sleep. Take some deep breaths.  

2.  Clean & Prepped Skin.  Removing makeup, dirt, sunscreen, and pollution from your skin before you sleep helps it to better repair.  Applying gentle repair serums (shoutout Midnight Dew!) and adequate moisturizer can also prep your skin to do its best work.  See previous blog on creating a nighttime routine.  

3.  Digestion is Not the Main Event.  Doing your best not to eat at least a couple of hours before bedtime will help your body to focus on repair rather than digestion.  

4.  A Clean Environment.  I can’t stress enough how important clean pillowcases are.  Pillowcases should be changed a very minimum of once a week, but I recommend every two or three days.  Introducing debris and bacteria from dirty sheets and pillowcases will not benefit your skin’s repair time.  

Take a moment to consider what ways you can best set yourself up for optimal nighttime skin repair, and as always, share your comments and questions below!