An artificial sunburn caused by a lack of sleep???

Ok, so I work at Starbucks Coffee. This means that about 3 times a week, I wind up having to wake up at 4 in the morning to open the store. This throws my sleep schedule off, so on the mornings I open I'm generally running on 3 to 4 to 5 hours of sleep. Along with the tiredness, I'll get a burning sensation on my face. It literally feels like a sunburn! I didn't think much of it, then my mom noticed it today as well. I looked closely, and sure enough portions of my face are blotted red. There's no way it's an actual sunburn (It's winter right now, so I'm not out in the sun enough to get burned), and I know that it's not my face wash because on the mornings when I get enough sleep, the sensation isn't there.

Can anyone offer an explanation to this?

When I lived in Alberta I worked in a processing plant where I was up at 4am for work every day, it was deadly! My face always seemed to be dried out as well, I thought maybe it was the different air or environtment. But deffinately makes me think it had to do with the lack of sleep I was getting.

I wonder if anybody else has endured this.

How many cups of coffee do you drink a day?
Are you under any medication?

A lack of sleep or excessive tiredness can cause paleness of the skin, which again allows the blood underneath the skin to become more visible and appear darker.

Also if you're lacking certain nutrients your melanin production may be thrown outa whack. Caffiene is really taxing your immune system as well.

My face, chest and back look very red as if I was out in the sun way too long. I haven't been outdoors in the sun in a very long time. However I noticed red dots and a rash appearing after taking some medication last week and I decided especially after Friday that I was having a severe allergic reaction. I believe certain things in food can cause allergies as well. Then again a doctor or allergy specialist might be able to help diagnose what your problem is much better.

I had a dream that I was in a lightsaber fight once a few years ago and woke up with red and painful burn-like marks on my legs. I'm completely serious. They faded over the day.

That freaked me out...