Lack of sleep is a problem in today’s society, and many people are concerned about changes in their outward appearance due to lack of sleep. People generally come up with some noticeable skin attributes as symptoms of sleep deficiency including rough, dull, and dry skin as well as droopy eyelids and dark eye circles. Several previous reports also suggested that poor sleep could affect the skin condition. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the effect of one night of sleep deprivation on various skin biophysical properties. Twenty four healthy females participated in a study of one night of sleep deprivation. Subjects were kept awake for one night in a laboratory with controlled temperature and relative humidity. The skin condition of each subject was evaluated after normal sleep pattern and after one night of sleep deprivation. The measured skin biophysical parameters included transepidermal water loss, facial pore size, and skin tone, hydration, elasticity, desquamation, translucency, and blood flow. The cheek, eye, and lip areas were evaluated. After one night of sleep deprivation, multiple skin biophysical parameters showed changes when compared to the baseline measurements. A significant decrease in skin hydration and impaired barrier function were observed (p < 0.05). Decreased hydration led to decreased skin elasticity and translucency and increased skin scaling (p < 0.05). Facial pores were more conspicuous, and skin lightness decreased significantly (p < 0.05). Furthermore, skin blood flow decreased prominently (p < 0.05). The results demonstrated that the skin features that are recognized as symptoms of sleep deficiency actually showed remarkable differences after a period of sleep deprivation, and some of these features were confirmed in the eye, lip, as well as the cheek areas. This study revealed a significant association between sleep deprivation and skin biophysical properties by scientific measuring.
Knutson, K.L., Spiegel, K., Penev, P. and Van Cauter, E. (2007) The Metabolic Consequences of Sleep Deprivation. Sleep Medicine Reviews, 11, 163-178. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.smrv.2007.01.002
Pilcher, J.J. and Huffcutt, A.J. (1996) Effects of Sleep Deprivation on Performance: A Meta-Analysis. Sleep, 19, 318-326.
Drummond, S.P., Brown, G.G., Gillin, J.C., et al. (2000) Altered Brain Response to Verbal Learning Following Sleep Deprivation. Nature, 403, 655-657.
Ferrara, M. and De Gennaro, L. (2001) How Much Sleep Do We Need? Sleep Medicine Reviews, 5, 155-179. https://doi.org/10.1053/smrv.2000.0138
Alvarez, G.G. and Ayas, N.T. (2004) The Impact of Daily Sleep Duration on Health: A Review of the Literature. Progress in Cardiovascular Nursing, 19, 56-59. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.0889-7204.2004.02422.x
Lange, T., Dimitrov, S. and Born, J. (2010) Effects of Sleep and Circadian Rhythm on the Human Immune System. Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences, 1193, 48-59. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1749-6632.2009.05300.x
Majde, J.A. and Krueger, J.M. (2005) Links between the Innate Immune System and Sleep. Journal of Allergy and Clinical Immunology, 116, 1188-1198. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jaci.2005.08.005
Rajaratnam, S.M. and Arendt, J. (2001) Health in a 24-h Society. The Lancet, 358, 999-1005. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0140-6736(01)06108-6
Sundelin, T., Lekander, M., Kecklund, G., et al. (2013) Cues of Fatigue: Effects of Sleep Deprivation on Facial Appearance. Sleep, 36, 1355-1360. https://doi.org/10.5665/sleep.2964
Axelsson, J., Sundelin, T., Ingre, M., et al. (2010) Beauty Sleep: Experimental Study on the Perceived Health and Attractiveness of Sleep Deprived People. BMJ, 341, c6614. https://doi.org/10.1136/bmj.c6614
Haxby, J.V., Hoffman, E.A. and Gobbini, M.I. (2000) The Distributed Human Neural System for Face Perception. Trends in Cognitive Sciences, 4, 223-233. https://doi.org/10.1016/S1364-6613(00)01482-0
Kahan, V., Andersen, M.L., Tomimori, J. and Tufik, S. (2010) Can Poor Sleep Affect Skin Integrity? Medical Hypotheses, 75, 535-537. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.mehy.2010.07.018
Mostaghimi, L., Obermeyer, W.H., Ballamudi, B., Martinez-Gonzalez, D. and Benca, R.M. (2005) Effects of Sleep Deprivation on Wound Healing. Journal of Sleep Research, 14, 213-219. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1365-2869.2005.00455.x
Irwin, M., Thompson, J., Miller, C., Gillin, J.C. and Ziegler, M. (1999) Effects of Sleep and Sleep Deprivation on Catecholamine and Interleukin-2 Levels in Humans: Clinical Implications. The Journal of Clinical Endocrinology & Metabolism, 84, 1979-1985. https://doi.org/10.1210/jc.84.6.1979
Spiegel, K., Leproult, R. and Van Cauter, E. (1999) Impact of Sleep Debt on Metabolic and Endocrine Function. The Lancet, 354, 1435-1439. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0140-6736(99)01376-8
Denda, M., Tsuchiya, T., Elias, P.M. and Feingold, K.R. (2000) Stress Alters Cutaneous Permeability Barrier Homeostasis. American Journal of Physiology. Regulatory, Integrative and Comparative Physiology, 278, R367-R372.
Kao, J.S., Fluhr, J.W., Man, M.Q., et al. (2003) Short-Term Glucocorticoid Treatment Compromises Both Permeability Barrier Homeostasis and Stratum Corneum Integrity: Inhibition of Epidermal Lipid Synthesis Accounts for Functional Abnormalities. Journal of Investigative Dermatology, 120, 456-464. https://doi.org/10.1046/j.1523-1747.2003.12053.x
Altemus, M., Rao, B., Dhabhar, F.S., Ding, W. and Granstein, R.D. (2001) Stress-Induced Changes in Skin Barrier Function in Healthy Women. Journal of Investigative Dermatology, 117, 309-317. https://doi.org/10.1046/j.1523-1747.2001.01373.x
Kushida, C.A., Everson, C.A., Suthipinittharm, P., et al. (1989) Sleep Deprivation in the Rat: VI. Skin Changes. Sleep, 12, 42-46.
Meerlo, P., Koehl, M., Van der Borght, K. and Turek, F.W. (2002) Sleep Restriction Alters the Hypothalamic-Pituitary-Adrenal Response to Stress. Journal of Neuroendocrinology, 14, 397-402. https://doi.org/10.1046/j.0007-1331.2002.00790.x
Garg, A., Chren, M.M., Sands, L.P., et al. (2001) Psychological Stress Perturbs Epidermal Permeability Barrier Homeostasis: Implications for the Pathogenesis of Stress-Associated Skin Disorders. Archives of Dermatology, 137, 53-59. https://doi.org/10.1001/archderm.137.1.53
Kahan, V., Andersen, M.L., Tomimori, J. and Tufik, S. (2009) Stress, Immunity and Skin Collagen Integrity: Evidence from Animal Models and Clinical Conditions. Brain, Behavior, and Immunity, 23, 1089-1095. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.bbi.2009.06.002
Kirschbaum, C., Kudielka, B.M., Gaab, J., Schommer, N.C. and Hellhammer, D.H. (1999) Impact of Gender, Menstrual Cycle Phase, and Oral Contraceptives on the Activity of the Hypothalamus-Pituitary-Adrenal Axis. Psychosomatic Medicine, 61, 154-162. https://doi.org/10.1097/00006842-199903000-00006
Sauvet, F., Leftheriotis, G., Gomez-Merino, D., et al. (2010) Effect of Acute Sleep Deprivation on Vascular Function in Healthy Subjects. Journal of Applied Physiology, 108, 68-75. https://doi.org/10.1152/japplphysiol.00851.2009
Dobrev, H.P. (2002) A Study of Human Skin Mechanical Properties by Means of Cutometer. Folia Medica, 44, 5-10.
Everson, C.A. (2005) Clinical Assessment of Blood Leukocytes, Serum Cytokines, and Serum Immunoglobulins as Responses to Sleep Deprivation in Laboratory Rats. American Journal of Physiology. Regulatory, Integrative and Comparative Physiology, 289, R1054-R1063. https://doi.org/10.1152/ajpregu.00021.2005
Mullington, J.M., Haack, M., Toth, M., Serrador, J.M. and Meier-Ewert, H.K. (2009) Cardiovascular, Inflammatory, and Metabolic Consequences of Sleep Deprivation. Progress in Cardiovascular Diseases, 51, 294-302. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.pcad.2008.10.003
Jemec, G.B., Jemec, B., Jemec, B.I. and Serup, J. (1990) The Effect of Superficial Hydration on the Mechanical Properties of Human Skin in Vivo: Implications for Plastic Surgery. Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery, 85, 100-103. https://doi.org/10.1097/00006534-199001000-00017
Auriol, F., Vaillant, L., Machet, L., Diridollou, S. and Lorette, G. (1993) Effects of Short-Time Hydration on Skin Extensibility. Acta Dermato Venereologica, 73, 344-347.
Dobrev, H. (2000) Use of Cutometer to Assess Epidermal Hydration. Skin Research and Technology, 6, 239-244. https://doi.org/10.1034/j.1600-0846.2000.006004239.x
Nam, G.W., Baek, J.H., Koh, J.S. and Hwang, J.K. (2015) The Seasonal Variation in Skin Hydration, Sebum, Scaliness, Brightness and Elasticity in Korean Females. Skin Research and Technology, 21, 1-8. https://doi.org/10.1111/srt.12145
Jemec, G.B. and Serup, J. (1991) Scaling, Dry Skin and Gender. A Bioengineering Study of Dry Skin. Acta Dermato Venereologica, 177, 26-28.
Proksch, E. and Lachapelle, J.M. (2005) The Management of Dry Skin with Topical Emollients-Recent Perspectives. Journal der Deutschen Dermatologischen Gesellschaft, 3, 768-774. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1610-0387.2005.05068.x
Jiang, Z.X. and DeLaCruz, J. (2011) Appearance Benefits of Skin Moisturization. Skin Research and Technology, 17, 51-55. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1600-0846.2010.00462.x
Kim, H.J., Baek, J.H., Eo, J.E., et al. (2015) Dermal Matrix Affects Translucency of Incident Light on the Skin. Skin Research and Technology, 21, 41-46. https://doi.org/10.15323/techart.2015.02.2.1.41
Masuda, Y., Takahashi, M., Satou, A., et al. (2004) Dermatological Study on Dark Eye Circles and Their Treatment with Newly Developed Cosmetics. International Journal of Cosmetic Science, 26, 315-315. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1467-2494.2004.00242_2.x
Van Someren, E.J. (2004) Sleep Propensity Is Modulated by Circadian and Behavior-Induced Changes in Cutaneous Temperature. Journal of Thermal Biology, 29, 437-444. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jtherbio.2004.08.003
Van Someren, E.J. (2006) Mechanisms and Functions of Coupling between Sleep and Temperature Rhythms. Progress in Brain Research, 153, 309-324. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0079-6123(06)53018-3
Papale, L.A., Andersen, M.L., Antunes, I.B., Alvarenga, T.A.F. and Tufik, S. (2005) Sleep Pattern in Rats under Different Stress Modalities. Brain Research, 1060, 47-54. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.brainres.2005.08.021