Effects of a humidifying environment during sleep on the skin of middle-aged people

Abstract

Abstract : The effect of dryness is being increasing highlighted in the context of anti-aging. And there is a demand for effective solutions to combat dry indoor environments. Sleep has also been found to be another important factor to counter aging. To study the effects of humidification during sleep, personal humidifiers were placed close to the heads of middle-aged participants with healthy skin (14 males and 16 females) while they were sleeping. The effects of humidification on their quality of sleep, moisture content of the skin, and skin surface texture were investigated. The experiment was performed in both summer and winter. Measurements were made at a point in the center of each participant’s cheek. The experiment was performed over a period of 14 days with two test conditions for each participant: using and not using a personal humidifier. The measurement results revealed that the moisture content of the skin was higher when a humidifier was used than when it was not used. Imaging analysis of the skin surface texture also revealed significant differences in moisturization, indicating the effectiveness of the humidified environment. In terms of quality of sleep, we found that on using a humidifier, participants tended to fall asleep more quickly in winter.