Is Your Skin Making You Tired?

You have have thought that if you’re tired then your skin looks tired. This post from Prevention.com sparks a new thought: your skin is making you tired! Here’s what they had to say on the matter.

Things to blame for a terrible night’s sleep: Your cat walking on
your face, your spouse being a Grade A blanket-hog, and now, your skin,
says a new study in the Journal of Investigative Dermatology.

Northwestern University researchers took data from 34,613 adults
enrolled in the National Health Interview Survey and found that those
with eczema were more likely to deal with fatigue, insomnia, and (duh)
daytime sleepiness than the rest of the population, even when factoring
in things like body mass index and allergies.

It may sound like a dramatic consequence from itchy, inflamed patches
of skin, and it’s true that not getting enough sleep can make the
problem worse by keeping skin from repairing properly overnight, but the
researchers say the vicious cycle starts with the eczema, not the other
way around. “People with eczema are
itchy, and that itch can wake them up throughout the night,”
says Jeanette Graf, assistant clinical professor of dermatology at Mount
Sinai Medical School in New York.

If you find yourself scratching from dusk til dawn, Graf recommends a menthol-based cream, like Sarna ($11; walgreens.com),
to immediately calm the itch, followed up with a richer, super
moisturizing cream to protect skin’s outer layer (which, when
functioning well, keeps hydration in and irritants out), like the
National Eczema Association-backed Trixera + Selectiose Emollient Cream ($29; aveneusa.com).
If you’d rather go a more natural route, Jessica Hayman, a naturopathic
doctor based in Sedona, Arizona, recommends either unrefined, organic
coconut oil or manuka honey, two natural options known for their healing
and soothing properties.