Beauty Sleep Is Real—Here’s How to Actually Get It

ICYWW, sleep is important for skin health *and* mental health.

When I was a little girl, I was convinced that Princess Jasmine was the coolest girl in the Disney crew (clearly, my love for crop tops and statement jewelry started early). But now, as a grown ass woman who values eight hours of sleep more than any accessory, I realize Sleeping Beauty had the real dream life—literally. She slept for a hundred years and woke up looking fresh, glowing, and completely untouched by time. Can you imagine?!

Anyone who’s ever gasped at their appearance in the mirror after a late night knows that the link between “sleep” and “beauty” isn’t just the stuff of fairytales. Case in point? On Sunday morning, I woke up with a pimple on my chin as a thank you for the restless, tequila-infused night I had on Saturday. And the sleepless spiral didn’t stop there: Big-time Sunday Scaries led to another rough night, and by Monday morning, my skin was dull and dry with dark circles that even my thickest concealer struggled to cover.

Sleep is the single most important thing you can do for your skin and mental health—and those two things are deeply intertwined. Let’s dive into why beauty sleep is very real and how you can actually get it.

The Science Behind Beauty Sleep

I always thought the whole concept of beauty sleep was inspired by Aurora’s enviable nap, but in reality, it was the other way around. Ancient Greeks and Romans emphasized the importance of rest for maintaining a youthful appearance, while traditional Chinese medicine linked sleep with skin health and overall vitality. The idea that the more you sleep, the better you look has been around for centuries—and now, we have the science to back it up.

Your skin follows a circadian rhythm, meaning it operates on a 24-hour biological cycle that regulates everything from cell turnover to barrier function. During the day, your skin is in "protect" mode, working to defend against environmental stressors like UV rays and pollution. But at night, while you sleep, your skin shifts into "repair" mode to undo all that daytime damage and restore itself.

So, while you’re busy dreaming about Glen Powell (just me?), your body is hard at work:

• Collagen production kicks into high gear, helping to maintain skin elasticity and reduce fine lines and wrinkles.

• Skin cells "turn over," meaning fresh, healthy cells replace dead, dull ones, giving you a brighter complexion.

• Stress hormones finally chill out—lower cortisol levels reduce breakouts, redness, and inflammation.

• Blood flow increases, delivering oxygen and nutrients to skin cells while removing toxins and supporting lymphatic drainage—crucial for a healthy, radiant complexion.

But if you’re not getting enough high-quality sleep, your skin misses out on this crucial repair time—and it will show on your face:

• Slower cell turnover makes skin look dull and tired.

• Less collagen production accelerates fine lines and premature aging.

• Heightened cortisol levels trigger pimples, puffiness, and inflammation.

• Reduced circulation leads to paleness, puffiness, and under-eye bags.

The result? You wake up looking and feeling worn out—even if you’ve got a solid skincare routine.

🛌 The Connection Between Sleep and Mental Health (And Why It Matters for Your Skin)

While sleep is clearly important for skin health on a biological level, it’s arguably even more important on a mental and emotional level—and since this is a mental health newsletter, I’m going to go ahead and make that argument.

To understand why, you first need to know that your skin is deeply impacted by your stress hormones. (We’ll take a much deeper dive into this in a few weeks, but for now, here’s the TL;DR.)

• The more stressed out you are, the more your skin struggles.

• The worse you sleep, the more stressed out you become.

• And the worse your skin gets, the more stressed out you feel.

A bad night’s sleep doesn’t just leave you groggy—it throws your hormones completely out of whack, creating a domino effect on your stress and anxiety levels. When cortisol spikes, it can worsen breakouts, trigger eczema and psoriasis flare-ups, and weaken your skin barrier. And then, when you look in the mirror and see a breakout, dullness, or puffiness staring back at you, your stress levels rise even more—fueling another night of tossing, turning, and skin woes.

It’s an absolutely vicious cycle—one that I’ve been caught in more times than I can count.

The good news? You can break the cycle. By improving your sleep quality, you’re not just giving your skin a glow-up—you’re supporting your mental health, too. Up next: how to actually get the best beauty sleep of your life.