It is recommended by the NHS that a healthy adult should get seven to nine hours of sleep per night, however, age, health and personal circumstances affect how much sleep an individual requires.
While it’s common knowledge that “beauty sleep” has many aesthetic benefits, which stem from the growth and repair of skin cells, some sleep habits will inhibit these advantages.
Angie is a 57-year-old beauty expert and founder of the Hot and Flashy blog, which is “for mature women who want to look and feel their best in their hot-flash years”.
In a video posted on her YouTube channel, Angie (@AngieHotandFlashy ) claimed that sleep is “one of [her] most successful yet least expensive anti-ageing strategies”.
But it’s not just about getting good quality sleep, or having enough of it at night.
According to the over-50 beauty expert, the positioning is so important for those with visible ageing concerns.
She said: “I started sleeping on my back a few years ago when I went to my dermatologist and she mentioned that she could tell which side of my face I slept on at night, based on how deep my nasolabial folds were.
“Apparently one was deeper than the other and that was how she could tell.”
Chest wrinkles are another common side effect of side-sleeping, especially in those with less elasticity in their skin due to age, as Angie discovered herself. However, she claimed that these issues are reversible with the right approach.
The 61-year-old continued: “Since I switched to fully sleeping on my bad I’ve noticed so many other advantages to doing it that are also anti-ageing.
“I noticed that my hooded eyes became less hooded and I also noticed that I had less puffiness, less dark circles and smaller eye bags.”
Angie admitted that making the change “wasn’t easy”, and took her three months to get comfortable with the position.
But the results came almost immediately with reduced shoulder and back pain noticeable from the offset. Just as Angie claimed that trying back-sleeping was worth it, many others who have tried it agreed.
One woman commented on Angie’s YouTube video to share that at 72-years-old, she thought it was “impossible” to “erase” her deep chest creases from side sleeping. But since sleeping on her back all the time, she claims that they are gone.
Another fan said: “The difference is astounding! I look like I had eye surgery. My hooded eyes were greatly diminished and my eye bags are mostly gone, and they were huge before! I also notice that I breathe so much better, because my sinuses stay clearer. Best beauty advice I’ve ever used!”
Making the change is hard to do overnight without encountering back and hip pain, but Angie suggested a few hacks to make the switch easier.
She discovered a sleeping wedge that sits under the pillows to prop the back up slightly. The 61-year-old explained how she turns the bottom half of her body by bending her legs and kicking them out to the side with her shoulders still back on the mattress.
Another position recommended by Angie was to position the legs in a figure of four position, with one leg straight and the other bent resting on the calf of the straight leg.
