Everyone wants young looking skin, but it's no secret that skin changes with age. It loses elasticity and volume, becomes thinner, less plumper, and you notice a few lines and wrinkles here and there.

Many people simply wash their face thinking that cleansing their skin will keep it young and healthy, but it takes much more work than that.

Here are 10 key factors that you may not realize are causing your skin to age:

1. Not Changing Your Bedding

Do you wash your bed clothes regularly? Sleeping on dirty sheets and pillowcases every night, dead skin cells, bacteria, sweat, dust mites and their carcasses, fecal matter, and other gunk, including your own dead skin join you in bed.

The Sleep Foundation says people should wash their sheets one a week, and some people should wash their sheets every 3-4 days if you have pets that sleep with you.

So, change your sheets regularly and make sure to cleanse your face before bed. Taking care of your skin means having less dirt and grime on your bedding in the morning.

2. Not Wearing Sunscreen

One of the biggest factors that age us, is not protecting our skin from the sun. A lifetime of sun exposure can cause wrinkles, age spots and other skin problems - as well as increased risk of skin cancer, stated Mayo Clinic.

3. Stress

Research has shown that stress can lead to premature wrinkles, which in turn will affect your anti-aging routine. Many skin symptoms can arise from stress such as acne flareups, eczema, and dry skin are just a few of the ways that stress may show itself.

Stress and anxiety can also cause wrinkles because high amounts of cortisol (the stress hormone) break down skin's collagen and elastin. Stress also causes changes to the proteins in your skin that are responsible for skin elasticity. This loss of elasticity speeds up the aging process, including wrinkles.

Stress is an unavoidable. However, when stress becomes chronic it can leave a lasting impression on your health and your face.

Trying to manage and eleminate stress as much as possible can help you fight against signs of premature aging.

4. Not Getting Enough Sleep

Sleep is critical for concentration, energy - and also for your skin's health. Lack of sleep can impact your mental health and physical appearance. A study published in Clinical and Experimental Dermatology involving 60 women found that poor sleep (five hours or less) was linked to increased signs of aging, poorer skin barrier function, and a worse assessment of their skin and facial appearance.

So, be sure you get a good nights sleep but if you are unable, this article How To Promote Deep Sleep Naturally, can help you out.

5. Sipping On A Straw

Many people love sipping through a straw. But did you know that drinking from a straw contributes to wrinkles. Whenever we purse our lips repeatedly, it breaks down collagen over time which leads to premature lines and wrinkles around your mouth.

You don't have to skip the straw, just don't go overboard.

6. Bad Eating Habits

This is no new revelation, but eating unhealthy food like fast food and junk food accelerates aging. Modern science has proven that bad eating habits are important causes of skin aging.

Processed meats like hot dogs, pepperoni, bacon, and sausage can be harmful to your skin. Processed food, fried, and high sugary foods can lead to inflammation, acne breakouts and premature aging of the skin and contribute to wrinkle formation.

Don't deprive your skin of the essential nutrients it needs to maintain a full, plump appearance.

7. Repeated facial expressions

Facial expressions, such as squinting or smiling repeatedly, lead to fine lines and wrinkles. Every time you use a facial muscle, a groove forms beneath the skin's surface. And as skin ages, it loses its ability to stretch and spring back in place then begins to sag and wrinkle. These factors then become permanent features on your face.

8. Lack Of Moisturizer

Leaving moisturizer out of your daily skin care routine can lead to deep wrinkles later on. Dry skin shrivels your skin cells, which can lead to fine lines and wrinkles. Less moisturizer means more wrinkles and more under eye bags.

A moisturizer can help protect the skin from environmental factors, and restore the skin's lipid barrier.

A good hydrating moisturizer and a high active serum is more than enough to keep the appearance of fine lines and wrinkles at bay.

Don't forget to cleanse and moisturize your face twice a day.

9. Neglecting To Remove Makeup Before Bed

Neglecting to remove your makeup before you go to bed can clog your pores, and interrupt cell turnover which restricts your body's ability to produce collagen proteins causing fine lines and wrinkles. Sleeping with your makeup on prevents the skin from this much-needed renewal, resulting in healthy collagen breaking down.

Removing your makeup, mascara and other products before going to bed with a cleanser or fractionated coconut oil is essential if you want to keep your skin healthy and beautiful. Habitually leaving your makeup on can damage your skin by clogging your pores and cause wrinkles, breakouts and other skin problems.

10. Smoking, Alcohol And Coffee Intake

Execessive alcohol drinking dehydrates your body and cause your skin to sag, lose its shape, become dry and wrinkle.

Regular smoking accelerates skin aging because it reduces the blood supply to the skin.

Coffee is a diuretic which means it increases urination, and pulls water from the body, including the skin. Drinking high doses of caffeine all at once may may increase the amount of urine the body makes. When skin is dehydrated your skin ages faster because it loses water causing it to look dry, dull, and wrinkled.

You don't have to give up coffee altogether, but if you drink in excess, make sure your re-hydrate with lots of water or milk.

Conclusion

Everybody gets lines and wrinkles that become more prominent over time. While wrinkles are a normal part of the aging process, their are ways you can help prevent or delay their appearance on your skin.