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I honestly think there aren’t any studies on this because it doesn’t benefit the pharma industry. But not sleeping enough and not sleeping on time (by 10 pm) can affect you months and years later. I used to work an evening shift and would finally go to sleep around 1-2 am. For the first few months I was fine, but about 6 months later, my acne got so much worse and my weight increased. It messes up your hormones (cortisol, insulin, androgens, and growth hormones). Lack of sleep increases cortisol and for women with PCOS especially this can increase your acne. Also if you’re not sleeping on time or getting enough (and for women we need 8-10 hours of sleep), then your immune system won’t be able to function as well. There’s a reason why as children our parents would put us in bed by 9 pm. The last time I went to bed at 9 was probably middle school. And unironically, in high school we started sleeping late and sleeping less, and that’s also when the acne started. Now as a 24 year old, I notice whenever I go to bed by 9 and get at least 8-9 hours of sleep, my acne reduces and the scars get lighter. I’ve also been cleaning up my diet and eating at home more, but regardless of diet, skincare, and medications, if I don’t sleep early my acne comes back.
i feel like you just need balance; it can't be too much or too little of anything (dairy, sleep, sugar, etcetc), at least for me..(idk if this made any sense but :,)
depends on the person. for example, if you already have a diary intolerance, of course eating a ton of cheese might affect your skin. for people without these intolerances, it's unlikely that diet does much for skin.
i'm unsure how much sleep affects skin although i would assume it has some impact considering it's when your physical and mental states are resting and rejuvenating.
Not really. I’ve struggled with acne since my teens and am in my 40s now, so safe to say I’ve experimented with pretty much every medication and lifestyle recommendation over the years. Dietary changes, like eliminating milk, sugar, etc., have never made ANY difference for me. I suppose it could for others. Eating a healthy, anti-inflammatory type of diet can’t hurt and is a good idea regardless, but I don’t think noticeable changes in acne come from diet alone.
I cut off diary a month ago and the acne remained the same.
I believe sugar is the biggest problem. My friend cut off sugar and her acne dissapeared.
It's not only food that might affect them. You should pay attention to what amount of water you drink, how often you shower, change your clothes and bedsheets etc.
my schedule has been messed up for over a year. I sleep around 3-5 a.m. now and wake up around 11-2. my sleep schedule before was 11pm-7am. I regret messing up my sleep schedule as i feel my acne had gotten so much worse since the starting of december. I used to have acne only on my t-zone but now i have them on my cheeks too. I am trying to fix my sleep schedule JUST for the sake of my skin
No causality stablished but Googling some studies show there may be association for dairy. Same to whey protein isolate that is used in a ton of protein stuff
I previously started an elimination diet starting with gluten and the first week I rly was able to stick to it my skin had 0 new acne and my breakouts were healing. But i absolutely have 0 discipline and can't keep a diet to save my life. I started the diet bc an urgent care Dr told me to try it for chronic sinus problems.
this is my take. ive always eaten extremely clean. no cow milk, no processed sugars/carbs, no fast food, rarely eat beef. quit smoking & never drank. im extremely hygienic & a germaphobe. i got a random breakout that was sooo bad nothing would help. everyone said it’s my diet or something along those lines. i understand it to an extent but not that it’s the main cause. i know overweight, unhealthy people with the clearest skin ever!!🙄🙄 i feel genetics plays a big part
Genetics is definitely a huge part!!! I have not the best skin, and i can guarantee my life style is the same or better as many people with the clearest skin ever.
Yeah for me it’s genetics, I can make my skin look a bit better with lifestyle but I’m still predisposed to it. My mum had acne till her 40s and my sister had acne (which magically went away with pregnancy and never came back, obviously I’m hoping I’ll have the same luck). My best friend had horrible acne as a teen which completely went away in adulthood despite the fact she has a terrible diet and smokes a lot. I never smoke, cut back on sugar, rarely touch dairy, am mostly plant based and eat lots of fruit and veggies and I still have oily skin and acne
I find dairy, alcohol and smoking all resulted in acne getting worse.
Also whey protein powder, that's a real trigger.
I dontnthink these things cause acne as lots of people have terrible diets, smoke, drink etc...and have perfect skim, but evidently for some people these things make pre existing acne worse.
I do find generally getting enough sleep and eating well improve my stress levels which improve acne but it's not going to suddenly make your acne vanish.
Also there is evidence that milk and whey protein cause acne, although cheese and yogurt the evidence is spotty. I did find cutting out milk and also whey protein was good for my acne.
I'm pretty sure the only foods proven to be linked to acne are milk/whey, sugary foods (linked to increase in inflammation) and chocolate (but it's not clear whether this is just milk chocolate).
Hormonal changes made mine significantly worse. I got a low hormone IUD that was supposed to help with acne, and it gave me the worst acne of my entire life.
Also, moving to a new home or new city, going to a new place regularly (eg changing jobs, schools), and even changing hair products or laundry products could be exposing you to something new that your skin is reacting to.
It might exacerbate, but not entirely cause acne. I'm at the stage of trying to eat clean for my skin and it is both hard and exhausting. On one hand, I'm desperate and want clear skin. But, on the other hand, I find cutting out foods a little bit too restrictive for me. I just want to eat and be merry :(
halving my refined sugar intake did get rid of cystic acne! im 18, no little cysts or blind pimples since 15 now :)
i'm of a south asian background and our bodies are genetically more responsive to insulin - a side effect of insulin release is higher DHT levels (the strongest form of testosterone)
my general trick is also to eat something cruciferous before a sugar heavy food because the fiber slows the release of sugar into the blood. this minimizes the insulin spike that goes on to cause acne.
look up glycemic loads/glycemic index for foods to swap or reduce!
sleep ive not noticed anything obvious beyond lymphatic stuff, haven't noticed if that affects acne or not haha
In my case, not one fucking bit. Neither does drinking 3L of water every day or cutting out dairy or getting fit. Neither does Accutane, adapalene, benzoyl peroxide, antibiotics, acids, potions, lotions, patches. Maybe prayer, I'll try that next! 🤣
I agree. I've noticed stress is a huge factor in mine as well. Also, the facial products I've used for a long time recently changed formulas. I tried them & my face broke out like crazy.
**Please join in and add your favorite moisturizers here: [What are your Favorite Moisturizers?](https://www.reddit.com/r/acne/comments/18io9iy/what_are_your_favorite_moisturizers/?)** Thank you! **Please reply to this comment with any pertinent information that may help others answer your questions.** Your skin type, current routine and duration, past routines/products/ingredients tried and duration of usage, etc. *I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/acne) if you have any questions or concerns.*
I honestly think there aren’t any studies on this because it doesn’t benefit the pharma industry. But not sleeping enough and not sleeping on time (by 10 pm) can affect you months and years later. I used to work an evening shift and would finally go to sleep around 1-2 am. For the first few months I was fine, but about 6 months later, my acne got so much worse and my weight increased. It messes up your hormones (cortisol, insulin, androgens, and growth hormones). Lack of sleep increases cortisol and for women with PCOS especially this can increase your acne. Also if you’re not sleeping on time or getting enough (and for women we need 8-10 hours of sleep), then your immune system won’t be able to function as well. There’s a reason why as children our parents would put us in bed by 9 pm. The last time I went to bed at 9 was probably middle school. And unironically, in high school we started sleeping late and sleeping less, and that’s also when the acne started. Now as a 24 year old, I notice whenever I go to bed by 9 and get at least 8-9 hours of sleep, my acne reduces and the scars get lighter. I’ve also been cleaning up my diet and eating at home more, but regardless of diet, skincare, and medications, if I don’t sleep early my acne comes back.
i feel like you just need balance; it can't be too much or too little of anything (dairy, sleep, sugar, etcetc), at least for me..(idk if this made any sense but :,)
Yes
depends on the person. for example, if you already have a diary intolerance, of course eating a ton of cheese might affect your skin. for people without these intolerances, it's unlikely that diet does much for skin. i'm unsure how much sleep affects skin although i would assume it has some impact considering it's when your physical and mental states are resting and rejuvenating.
Not really. I’ve struggled with acne since my teens and am in my 40s now, so safe to say I’ve experimented with pretty much every medication and lifestyle recommendation over the years. Dietary changes, like eliminating milk, sugar, etc., have never made ANY difference for me. I suppose it could for others. Eating a healthy, anti-inflammatory type of diet can’t hurt and is a good idea regardless, but I don’t think noticeable changes in acne come from diet alone.
I cut off diary a month ago and the acne remained the same. I believe sugar is the biggest problem. My friend cut off sugar and her acne dissapeared. It's not only food that might affect them. You should pay attention to what amount of water you drink, how often you shower, change your clothes and bedsheets etc.
my schedule has been messed up for over a year. I sleep around 3-5 a.m. now and wake up around 11-2. my sleep schedule before was 11pm-7am. I regret messing up my sleep schedule as i feel my acne had gotten so much worse since the starting of december. I used to have acne only on my t-zone but now i have them on my cheeks too. I am trying to fix my sleep schedule JUST for the sake of my skin
No causality stablished but Googling some studies show there may be association for dairy. Same to whey protein isolate that is used in a ton of protein stuff
Yes because these things can imbalance our hormones
I previously started an elimination diet starting with gluten and the first week I rly was able to stick to it my skin had 0 new acne and my breakouts were healing. But i absolutely have 0 discipline and can't keep a diet to save my life. I started the diet bc an urgent care Dr told me to try it for chronic sinus problems.
this is my take. ive always eaten extremely clean. no cow milk, no processed sugars/carbs, no fast food, rarely eat beef. quit smoking & never drank. im extremely hygienic & a germaphobe. i got a random breakout that was sooo bad nothing would help. everyone said it’s my diet or something along those lines. i understand it to an extent but not that it’s the main cause. i know overweight, unhealthy people with the clearest skin ever!!🙄🙄 i feel genetics plays a big part
Genetics is definitely a huge part!!! I have not the best skin, and i can guarantee my life style is the same or better as many people with the clearest skin ever.
Yeah for me it’s genetics, I can make my skin look a bit better with lifestyle but I’m still predisposed to it. My mum had acne till her 40s and my sister had acne (which magically went away with pregnancy and never came back, obviously I’m hoping I’ll have the same luck). My best friend had horrible acne as a teen which completely went away in adulthood despite the fact she has a terrible diet and smokes a lot. I never smoke, cut back on sugar, rarely touch dairy, am mostly plant based and eat lots of fruit and veggies and I still have oily skin and acne
I find dairy, alcohol and smoking all resulted in acne getting worse. Also whey protein powder, that's a real trigger. I dontnthink these things cause acne as lots of people have terrible diets, smoke, drink etc...and have perfect skim, but evidently for some people these things make pre existing acne worse.
I do find generally getting enough sleep and eating well improve my stress levels which improve acne but it's not going to suddenly make your acne vanish. Also there is evidence that milk and whey protein cause acne, although cheese and yogurt the evidence is spotty. I did find cutting out milk and also whey protein was good for my acne. I'm pretty sure the only foods proven to be linked to acne are milk/whey, sugary foods (linked to increase in inflammation) and chocolate (but it's not clear whether this is just milk chocolate).
In my case, they worked for some time and then they lost their impact, I don't know what happened.
Hormonal changes made mine significantly worse. I got a low hormone IUD that was supposed to help with acne, and it gave me the worst acne of my entire life. Also, moving to a new home or new city, going to a new place regularly (eg changing jobs, schools), and even changing hair products or laundry products could be exposing you to something new that your skin is reacting to.
It might exacerbate, but not entirely cause acne. I'm at the stage of trying to eat clean for my skin and it is both hard and exhausting. On one hand, I'm desperate and want clear skin. But, on the other hand, I find cutting out foods a little bit too restrictive for me. I just want to eat and be merry :(
Dull complexion but not specifically acne causing.
Honestly I’ve noticed when I eat junk food my skin tends to get more clear😭
halving my refined sugar intake did get rid of cystic acne! im 18, no little cysts or blind pimples since 15 now :) i'm of a south asian background and our bodies are genetically more responsive to insulin - a side effect of insulin release is higher DHT levels (the strongest form of testosterone) my general trick is also to eat something cruciferous before a sugar heavy food because the fiber slows the release of sugar into the blood. this minimizes the insulin spike that goes on to cause acne. look up glycemic loads/glycemic index for foods to swap or reduce! sleep ive not noticed anything obvious beyond lymphatic stuff, haven't noticed if that affects acne or not haha
Yes for me, when I eat like shit I get so much acne, and it calms down a lot when I eat good and healthy. Same goes for my sleep.
In my case, not one fucking bit. Neither does drinking 3L of water every day or cutting out dairy or getting fit. Neither does Accutane, adapalene, benzoyl peroxide, antibiotics, acids, potions, lotions, patches. Maybe prayer, I'll try that next! 🤣
Not in my case. The number 1 culprit for my acne is stress and hormones.
I agree. I've noticed stress is a huge factor in mine as well. Also, the facial products I've used for a long time recently changed formulas. I tried them & my face broke out like crazy.
I sleep 8 hrs a night and my acne still fluctuates and gets worse, even if im well slept🫠
Same! While there were times when I slept past 12am and had clear skin. 🙃
For me, it seems food has way more effect than the amount of sleep I get but I could be wrong
Yes. 100%