How To Wake Up Without Puffiness: My Personal Tips

by Alexandra Mansilla

How To Wake Up Without Puffiness: My Personal Tips

27 Sept 2024

Photo: Greg Pappas

First off, a quick disclaimer: this is just my personal experience — methods that helped me wake up without puffiness. They might work for you too, but if the problem runs deeper (which we sometimes don’t even realise), it is always best to see a doctor.

Let me give you some context. If you have worked in media, you know it is endless hours sitting in front of a computer. I have been living like this for about 10 years now, and while, at first, I could pull all-nighters and still look fine in the morning, well, things have changed. Now, the sleepless nights spent glued to my laptop are all over my face.

How? Under-eye puffiness!

Of course, I wasn’t thrilled, so I decided to rethink my routine (which was harder) and my habits. By habits, I mean snacking drinking tea or water while working late at night. This used to happen at any hour — 2 or 3 AM, even drinking water or tea right before bed. About a year ago, I came up with a few rules for myself, and I have been trying to stick to them ever since. So here they are:

— No drinking before bed. If I really need to, just a couple of sips of herbal tea at least an hour before sleep.

— No sweets or salty foods before bed — these definitely cause puffiness, so it is best to avoid them.

— No cottage cheese, meat, or other high-protein foods always made my face puff up the next morning.

— No sleeping on my stomach (!). I don’t know; maybe it is just me, but as soon as I stopped sleeping on my stomach (even though it was super comfy), the puffiness noticeably decreased.

— The pillow really matters! A slightly elevated pillow helps prevent fluid from pooling around your eyes while you sleep, so that is something to think about.

— No moisturiser at night; it is better to use a nourishing cream instead.

Of course, you need to get those eight hours of sleep and limit your laptop time, but that is still a work in progress for me.

Photo: Juliane Liebermann

So, what can you do if you wake up with puffiness and it is really not the best time for it?

— A contrast shower in the morning (I have only managed it a few times). For 10 seconds, make the water cooler, then bring it back to a comfortable temperature, and repeat. The trick is finding the balance between cold and warm so you don’t get too cold.

— Manual face massage. Apply cream, gently massage your face, then rinse — this really helps reduce puffiness.

— Lymphatic drainage massage. There are specific devices for this, and you start by moving them upward along the sides of your neck, then move to the chin, cheekbones, eyes, and forehead.