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"In case you were looking for an excuse to conk out early tonight: Getting enough sleep (ideally 8 hours) can dramatically decrease the appearance of acne, according to a respected dermatologist I just interviewed for a story. Gratuitous shot of puppy in sleep mask. Cute little bedtime snugglebug awwww. She says people are getting even less shut-eye than usual these days, thanks to big-time stress associated with the recession and housing/employment crisis. This exacerbates acne in two ways: The stress itself creates surging levels of the hormone cortisol, a big breakout culprit. Then, when we get less sleep, we cut back on the crucial nighttime hours when our bodies work to reduce those cortisol levels. So the stress just keeps pulsing through our veins. Fun. But wait! Here&amp;#x27;s the good news. Start scheduling a full 8 hours a sleep per night (or more--you can usually feel what your own body needs), and you should see noticeably improved skin in a matter of a month. I&amp;#x27;ve definitely been more broken out lately, and I&amp;#x27;m going to try going to bed earlier to help with the problem. It ain&amp;#x27;t easy, I know--but I&amp;#x27;m going to try scheduling a 11 p.m. bedtime and see how it goes. I&amp;#x27;d love to go to bed by 10 on nights when I have nothing going on--as my mom always said, the hours of sleep before midnight count double! How have you been sleeping lately? Have you been more broken out than usual? Are you super stressed out right now? What are some ways you get to sleep on restless nights? Then, of course, we have the possibility that you could lose 15 pounds just by sleeping more ... Photo: Getty Images"^^<http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#string>
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