Karina, a member of the group aespa, has revealed the secret behind her clear and smooth skin.
Recently, in an unreleased clip from Salon Drip 2 (Jang Do-baribari Season 3) released on the YouTube channel 'TEO', Karina chatted about "sleep" with host Jang Do-yeon.
When Jang Do-yeon asked, "What time do you usually wake up?" Karina replied, "If I don't set an alarm, I just keep sleeping. I don't wake up." Following up on the question, "What is the longest you've ever slept?" Karina surprised Jang Do-yeon by revealing, "I've slept for up to 21 hours. I'm really good at sleeping, right?"
Karina added an anecdote: "When I shared a room with the members, our youngest, Ningning, thought I had died and even put her finger under my nose to check," proving the old saying that "beauties are sleepyheads."
Boasting perfect visuals, Karina is particularly famous for her flawless skin. She is the envy of many for her pale, transparent, smooth, and glowing complexion. One of the secrets to her clear and bright skin is sleep. Let’s explore the relationship between sleep and skin.
Why Sleep is "Medicine" for Your Skin
Sleep plays a key role in skin regeneration, moisturization, and maintaining elasticity. Even a short period of sleep deprivation can make skin look dull and accelerate aging. This is why if you toss and turn due to worries, people immediately ask, "Is something wrong?"
- Regeneration and Repair During deep sleep, growth hormones and melatonin are secreted to help generate collagen, regenerate cells, and repair damaged skin, thereby managing elasticity and wrinkles. Additionally, sleep repairs the skin barrier damaged by UV rays and fine dust during the day and removes free radicals to refine skin tone and texture.
- The Consequences of Sleep Deprivation If your sleep is reduced for just a day or two, skin moisture decreases, dead skin cells increase, and radiance, transparency, and elasticity drop while wrinkles become more pronounced. Lack of sleep for several days leads to dark circles, poor skin tone, worsened breakouts and inflammation, dull and rough texture, and accelerated aging.
- The Golden Time For skin regeneration, it is important to secure about 7–8 hours of sufficient nighttime sleep (for adults) and ensure deep sleep is included. The key is to sleep sufficiently, including the so-called "Golden Time" (10 PM – 2 AM). This is when deep non-REM sleep, associated with growth hormone and melatonin secretion, is concentrated. Skin cell regeneration, collagen synthesis, and damage repair are particularly active during this time, increasing recovery efficiency. On days when sleep is insufficient, a short nap during the day can partially compensate for fatigue and skin stress.
Lifestyle Habits to Improve Sleep Quality for Glowing Skin
Although they say "sleep is the best medicine," modern people increasingly suffer from sleepless nights. Improving sleep quality through lifestyle changes—such as maintaining consistent bedtimes, and reducing smartphone usage, caffeine, and late-night snacks—can significantly help skin recovery.
- Maintain a Consistent Rhythm Going to bed and waking up at the same time every day stabilizes your biological rhythm, helping you fall asleep faster and keeping your sleep structure consistent, which makes it easier to secure skin regeneration time.
- Dietary Habits
Dinner: Finish 3–4 hours before bed.
Avoid: Overeating, late-night snacks, excessive drinking, greasy foods, and sugar. This reduces stomach discomfort and nighttime awakenings.
Caffeine: Limit caffeine after 2–3 PM. Reducing energy drinks and strong tea helps shorten the time it takes to fall asleep and increases the ratio of deep sleep.
- Sleep Environment Keep the bedroom dark, quiet, and at a comfortable temperature (not too hot or cold). Turning off blue light from TVs or phones at least one hour before bed helps with melatonin secretion and deep sleep.
- Exercise and Stress Management
Daytime: About 30–40 minutes of aerobic or strength exercise (enough to break a sweat) reduces stress and increases deep sleep at night, contributing to the alleviation of skin inflammation and sensitivity.
Before Bed: Instead of intense exercise, relax with light stretching, yoga, abdominal breathing, or meditation. This lowers cortisol levels and can alleviate stress-induced acne and eczema.
Sleeping Position Habits like sleeping on your stomach, lying on one side, or burying your face in a pillow promote wrinkles, puffiness, and loss of elasticity. Therefore, it is better to lie on your back looking at the ceiling and use a pillow at a height comfortable for your neck and shoulders.
Nighttime Skincare Supply sufficient moisture to the skin before bed. After thoroughly washing off makeup, sunscreen, and dust, apply low-irritation moisturizers containing barrier-strengthening ingredients like ceramides and hyaluronic acid. This reduces moisture loss overnight and aids regeneration. Use active ingredients like retinol or acids (AHA/BHA) in small amounts at night; if irritation occurs, reduce frequency or concentration to prevent tossing and turning due to itchiness.
