Does sleeping face down stretch your cheeks out?

Hi! I'm 28 and since 18 I have been sleeping face down and without pillow. It's clear that my face gets flattened quite hard because when I wake up I see two wrinkles in my forehead, but that's not what bothers me. What bothers me is that in the last few years my cheeks had gone falling down and in general all my face has become flabby and soft. Just a few years ago I had my cheeks round and firm, now it's all falling like jelly, a bit like the Hush Puppies dog, and when I put my finger in it it goes down and it's all shaky. It also makes clear when I shave myself, the skin has lost a lot of firmness just in a few years, and I'm afraid it will form a double chin in not much time. Is it possible that all this is because of sleeping face down? Almost everyone I know doesn't sleep this way and no one has this problem (at least nobody my age).

I also want to state that I'm otherwise healthy, well fit, have been always been around the same weight and exercise myself regularly.

It's still not a very big thing but it's starting to show and it's quite depressing for me. If it is like this now that I'm 28, I don't want to imagine how it will evolve in the next years. The first step I will take is try to sleep sidewards and with a pillow, just in case, but if somebody has been through the same please answer.

Thank you very much!

[Bhupinder Kaur, MD]

Hello,
Sleeping face down cannot cause such flattening of face. Unless and until there is loss of muscle mass or collagen or muscle wasting medical disease, simply sleeping with face down cannot cause flattening of face.

It is very difficult to precisely confirm a diagnosis without examination and investigations and the answer is based on the medical information provided. For exact diagnosis, you are requested to consult your doctor. I sincerely hope that helps. Take care and please do keep me posted on how you are doing.

[Bhupinder Kaur, MD]

Hello,
Sleeping face down cannot cause such flattening of face. Unless and until there is loss of muscle mass or collagen or muscle wasting medical disease, simply sleeping with face down cannot cause flattening of face.

It is very difficult to precisely confirm a diagnosis without examination and investigations and the answer is based on the medical information provided. For exact diagnosis, you are requested to consult your doctor. I sincerely hope that helps. Take care and please do keep me posted on how you are doing.