Traci Melchor is a true renaissance woman who knows how to “assume the position”. Sleeping Positions was the topic of conversation during a recent broadcast of “The Social”… the CTV morning show where a group of savvy well-rounded ladies discusses topics from entertainment to fashion to current events.
But this time, the savviest of them all was Traci Melchor as she shared a scientific fact and was laughed at by the panel as well as the audience….
“Sleeping on your face ages you”, Traci says as she goes on to describe the aging effects of pushing your youthful face into your pillow every night. There is no denying… Traci’s skin is radiant and we would like to think that our pillow has been supporting not only her neck but her anti-aging efforts.
Don’t laugh but this is what the American Academy of Dermatology has to say:
Sleep position is recognized by the American Academy of Dermatology (AAD), as a cause of skin aging. “Sleeping Positions. Resting your face on the pillow, in the same way, every night for years on end also leads to wrinkles. Called sleep lines, these wrinkles eventually become etched on the surface of the skin and no longer disappear when the head is not resting on the pillow. Women, who tend to sleep on their sides, are most likely to see these lines appear on their chin and cheeks. Men tend to notice these lines on the forehead since they usually sleep with the face pressed face down on the pillow. People who sleep on their backs do not develop these wrinkles since their skin does not lie crumpled against the pillow.”
She who laughs last wakes up with Sleep Lines
Traci knows exactly what she is talking about. As we age, the appearance of – the facial lines that appear after sleeping with your face against a pillow – becomes more prominent. This should come as no surprise – if you actually consider how much time we spend sleeping. If you sleep the recommended 8 hours of sleep per night, you sleep a third of your life.
If you are lucky enough to be a predominantly back sleeper you are well on your way to preventing sleep creases as you sleep. People who sleep in this position simply avoid developing sleep wrinkles by not “smushing” their faces into their pillows. But the truth is the majority of us (75% actually) prefer side sleeping.
Need more Scientific Proof?
Dr. Samuel Stegman did a study on sleep creases and published it in the “Journal of Cosmetic Surgery’ in 1987. He found that after a few nights without having the subject’s face pushed against the pillow, the sleep creases become less noticeable. He also noted that this problem can be easily resolved by changing the sleeper’s position and suggested that the patient sleep in a position where there is minimal facial contact with the pillow… on their backs. Dr. Fulton’s published a follow-up article in 1999. He confirmed Dr. Stegman’s findings and warned patients against treating these lines with facial fillers because they do not offer long term relief. Facial creases reappear within hours of treatment because the underlying behavior that created the lines continues to be unchanged. And even more recently, this 2016 paper published in the Journal of Cosmetics, Dermatological Sciences titled The Neglected Importance of Sleep on the Formation and Aggravation of Facial Wrinkles and Their Prevention .
Assume the Position
This is where Kim and I (two Canadian anti-aging Nurses) were motivated to create a sleep aid that would allow us to sleep on our sides but still prevent us from sleeping on our faces. The enVy Anti-Aging premium pillow allows you to sleep on your side or back in perfect alignment without putting any strain or pressure on your facial tissue. After introducing the enVy anti-aging pillow into the market we were surprised to see that although clients were buying it for vanity they were loving it for all its other health benefits… such as relief of neck, shoulder, TMJ pain, numbness, and tingling, tossing and turning as well as sleep disturbances.