Causes of Wrinkles
Age, gender, photo damage, skin care regimen, moisture levels in the body and genetics all contribute to where wrinkles appear, when they appear and the depth of wrinkles on the skin. Strangely enough, sleep position can also lead to the formation of facial wrinkles. To understand how sleep position plays a role in wrinkle formation, it's important to understand the two types of wrinkles that can form.
Dynamic Wrinkles
Skin sits on and is attached to a layer of muscle. The structure and placement of these muscles is highly dependent upon genetic factors. When a muscle moves, the skin attached to it moves as well. Dynamic wrinkles are wrinkles that are present only when the muscles underlying the skin contracts.
Younger people have an abundance of elastin in their skin. Formed in the dermis, the middle layer of skin, elastin allows skin to stretch and to "snap back" as the underlying muscles move.
Younger people also have a high level of collagen in the dermis. Collagen is a protein that represents about 70 percent of the dry weight of skin and that's responsible for much of the skin's ability to hold moisture, according to Encyclopedia Britannica. When working correctly, collagen provides skin with strength, tension and elasticity. As people age and as a result of genetics, photo-damage and habits, collagen loses its shape and its ability to retain moisture. Without moisture, skin sags and loses elasticity.
Static Wrinkles
As skin ages, the dermis produces less elastin. The elastin already present in the skin begins to deteriorate and fray, forming abnormal-appearing elastin fibers, according to Dr. Romaine Johnson of Baylor College of Medicine. Further, the existing elastin loses its elasticity and no longer rebounds to its original position.
With the loss of collagen and the loss of functionality in existing collagen, skin cannot hold moisture and begins to thin. With the loss of plumpness, wrinkles appear deeper.
Without the ability to snap back to smoothness, skin begins to remain in a furrowed position. Static wrinkles, then, are present even when the underlying muscles are not contracting.
Sleep Position-Induced Wrinkles
People often sleep in the same position night after night. Whether pressed into a pillow or into a mattress, skin remains in the folded or pressed position for long periods. The muscles attached to skin often pass the night in this stretched or contracted position. The skin of younger people snaps back and plumps out when no longer in sleep position. As age progresses and skin loses functionality, sleep position-induced wrinkles result from repetitive pressure on the face.
Skin Renewal says "sleeping positions are the main cause of static wrinkles." These "sleep lines" progress over the years from dynamic to static. People who sleep on their sides night after night often see wrinkles appear on their chins and cheeks, while those who sleep on their stomachs, with their faces pressed into their pillows, tend to develop wrinkles on their foreheads. According to Skin Renewal, those who sleep on their backs will not see pillow-induced wrinkles.
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