Short sleep for days and my skin looks bad. What's missing?

What your body is missing most after several short nights is sleep itself. Studies have found that faces after two nights of about 4 hours' sleep were rated as looking less healthy and more tired, and that skin took longer to return to normal after its outer layer was disturbed when people had slept badly. The CDC recommends that adults sleep 7 hours or more. In a week of short sleep, keep skin care simple and gentle, and put getting your sleep back first.

Why does my skin look worse after several nights of short sleep?

A deadline week, late nights scrolling on your phone, a new baby, or shift work can all cut sleep night after night. Researchers have looked at what this does to how the face looks and to the skin's outer layer, the barrier that keeps water in and irritants out.

Two short nights already show on the face

In a 2017 study from Sweden, 25 adults were photographed twice: after two nights with only 4 hours in bed, and after two nights of normal sleep. Measured by a wrist device, they actually slept about 4 hours 15 minutes a night when restricted, compared with about 7 hours 35 minutes normally. A group of 122 people then rated the photos without knowing which was which. After the short nights, the same faces were rated as less attractive, less healthy and more sleepy, and raters were less keen to spend time with them.

An earlier study by the same research group, which kept people awake for a whole night, found sleep-deprived faces were seen as paler, with darker circles and more swollen eyes. That study, and other everyday causes of a tired-looking face, are covered in Why does my skin look dull and tired, and what can I do?

The skin barrier takes longer to settle

Researchers test the barrier by gently removing the top layer of skin with tape and measuring how much water escapes as it settles back.

• In a 2001 study, 11 women stayed awake for one night. Afterwards, their skin barrier was slower to return to normal after tape stripping.
• In a 2015 study of 60 women, those who regularly slept 5 hours or less and slept poorly lost more water through their skin to begin with. Three days after tape stripping, the barrier of women who slept well had returned closer to its starting level, by 30% more than that of poor sleepers. Good sleepers' skin also settled more quickly from redness 24 hours after a measured dose of UV light.

Both were small studies, and the 2015 study compared people who already slept differently rather than changing their sleep. But they point the same way as the photo studies: a run of short nights shows on the skin, not only in how tired you feel.

What you notice in the mirror

So when you ask "what is my body missing?", the most direct answer is hours of sleep. Short nights also tend to come with other things that affect sleep, such as late meals, more alcohol at work dinners, and stress, so looking at the whole week helps.

How many hours of sleep do I need so it doesn't show on my skin?

There is no separate "skin number". The amount that matters is the same sleep your whole body needs.

In the 2017 study, the short-sleep nights were about 4 hours and the normal nights about 7.5 hours, so the gap between "short" and "enough" in that study was around 3 hours a night.

Regular times count too

The CDC advises going to bed and getting up at the same time every day, including days off. If you sleep 5 hours on weeknights and 10 at the weekend, your wake time keeps moving and Monday morning feels harder.

Count back from your wake time

If you need to get up at 6:00, a 7-hour night means being asleep by 23:00, which usually means being in bed with the lights off a little before that. Writing this time down makes it easier to protect.

How should I look after my skin during a week of short sleep?

In a short-sleep week, skin is more likely to feel dry and irritated, so this is a time to do less, not more. The basics below come from the US National Institute on Aging (NIA) and the NHS.

Wash gently, even when you are exhausted

On nights when you get home late, it is tempting either to skip washing or to scrub hard to feel clean. The NIA advises using mild soap and warm, not hot, water, and notes that hot baths and showers, or using too much soap, can make dry skin worse.

Moisturise every day

The NIA suggests using a moisturiser such as a lotion, cream or ointment every day. If you sit in air conditioning all day, keep a small tube at your desk.

Keep up sunscreen

Tired mornings are when sunscreen gets skipped. The NHS advises using a sunscreen of at least SPF 30 with high UVA protection (at least 4 stars on UK labels), put on before you go out. In Thailand that means every day, including the walk to the BTS or the motorbike taxi queue. For how much to use and when to reapply, see Why does my skin look dull and tired, and what can I do?

Do not change everything at once

When skin looks bad it is tempting to try a strong scrub, a new serum and a face mask in the same week. The NIA notes that using too much soap or perfume can make dry skin worse. For more on skin that stings easily, see Sensitive, easily irritated skin: how do you care for it?

How do I get my sleep back on track after a busy week?

Because the main thing missing is sleep, getting it back is the core of looking after your skin in this situation.

Go to bed a little earlier, keep the same wake time

Rather than one very long lie-in, go to bed a little earlier for the next few nights and get up at your usual time. This adds hours without moving your body clock.

Habits from the CDC

The CDC suggests:

• going to bed and getting up at the same time every day
• keeping your bedroom quiet, relaxing and cool
• turning off electronic devices at least 30 minutes before bed
• avoiding large meals and alcohol before bed
• avoiding caffeine in the afternoon or evening
• being physically active during the day

In practice, that might mean moving the iced coffee to the morning, having a lighter dinner on late nights, and leaving your phone to charge outside the bedroom.

If your mind keeps you awake

If you lie in bed thinking about work, see Can't sleep because your mind won't stop thinking?. For sleep habits in general, see Want to sleep better? Which habits can you change?

When should I see a doctor?

Skin that looks tired after a run of short nights is common. But see a doctor or dermatologist if:

• your skin stays dry, tight or irritated after a few weeks of the gentle care above; the NIA advises talking to your doctor if your skin is very dry and itchy
• a rash or red patch gets worse, spreads, becomes painful, weeps or bleeds
• spots or redness keep getting worse, or do not get better after several weeks
• a skin product or a medicine you take regularly seems to be affecting your skin; do not stop or change a prescribed medicine on your own, talk to a doctor or pharmacist

Also talk to a doctor about your sleep if you keep sleeping badly for weeks even when you have time to sleep, or if tiredness affects your work, driving or daily life.