Permanent effects of lack of sleep?

[tommy]

Can lack of sleep cause permanent damage to the skin?

I have been suffering from insomnia for about 18 months, and have struggled to string a few good nights of sleep together for most of that time. At the moment I am getting roughly 6 hours of interrupted sleep per night, though at the worst stage I sometimes had 2 hours or even less.

Consequently, the skin around my eyes is very thin and pale, resulting in dark circles and bags under my eyes. I am wondering whether this chronic sleep deprivation may have caused irreversible damage to (e.g. thinning of) the skin around my eyes (by not giving the skin enough time to heal itself each night?), sentencing me to dark circles for the rest of my life. I am 30 years old.

Or, can the skin around my eys thicken and rejuvenate itself back to the way it was, assuming I soon get, say, 3-6 months of quality, uninterrupted 8-hours-a-night sleep, and maintain good sleep habits from that point onwards?

I know that lack of sleep is the problem because I didn´t have this problem before when I was sleeping well, and the rest of my lifestyle (nutrition, exercise habits, etc.) is healthy.

I saw a dermatologist about this, but since he resorted to consulting textbooks during the appointment his advice didn´t carry much weight with me.

I would appreciate any advice that people could offer.

Thanks.

[drtodorov]

There is a reasonable chance (but not a guarante) of at least partial reversal if you return to healthy lifestyle. But the longer you delay, the less likely it is.