A new study by the Aesthetic Surgery Journal has found that the position you sleep in can cause sleep wrinkles over time.

The compression, tension and shear forces applied to the face when you sleep cause facial distortion when you sleep on your side or your stomach, this leads to sleep wrinkles over time.

Sleep wrinkles form in response to distortion created when the face is pressed against any sleep surface, they tend to be worse over time due to the repetition combined with thinning of the skin and decreased elasticity as we age.

Sleep wrinkles are also influenced by the amount of time spent in various positions. Our initial sleep position is a conscious decision but we change position through the night unconsciously.  The number of times we shift position decreases with age from 27 times to 16 times per night (probably due to exhaustion of running around after children or work stresses!).

Sleeping on your side is the most popular position, with the study showing 65% of us find this most comfortable. The remaining 30% preferred lying on their back and the final 5% are prone to lying on their stomach. Some sleep wrinkle patterns can reinforce facial expression lines (nose to mouth lines, crows feet etc), most sleep wrinkles tend to be perpendicular to expression wrinkles and show on the forehead, lips and cheeks.

Unlike wrinkles that form from facial expressions and muscle contraction, sleep wrinkles are formed by compression during sleep and aren’t as easy to get rid of.

So what’s the solution? 

One way to minimise sleep wrinkles is to limit facial distortion during sleep. If you can stay on your back, that’s ideal. There are several speciality pillows available to help achieve that. Dermal Fillers can help and will reduce the visible signs of sleep wrinkles.