Whether for beauty, recovery, or both, the National Sleep Foundation recommends 7 to 9 hours of sleep per night. This makes it a perfect recovery time for the body and the skin so that your overall being is refreshed and your energy is renewed inside and out.
Skin is an indicator of the kind of sleep you are giving yourself in terms of quality since even one night of insufficient sleep, according to Sundelin, Lekander, Kecklund et. al. (2013) can aggravate your skin and bring you:
1. Paler skin complexion
If you look lifeless and dull, that is probably because you are not boosting blood flow in the skin. Sleep indulgence can help you in getting back that healthy glow and rosy cheeks.
2. Bigger and darker undereye circles
This is the initial indication that you are not getting enough sleep. Another consequence brought by a decrease in blood flow surrounding the face. The discoloration on this part of the eye might also be caused by genetics, aging, and an increase in melanin production (brown pigmentation in the skin causing it to tan in the sun).
3. More noticeable wrinkles and fine lines
Sleeping helps in the regeneration of collagen which can potentially help in preventing sagging and wrinkling. That is how it repairs naturally. When your skin looks plumper, that only means you have more collagen hence it is less likely to form wrinkles.
These certainly do not match the requirements of your woke-up-like-this selfies as you would want them to be all-natural but beautiful. You see, your physical appearance is directly affected if you are getting less than 7 hours of sleep per day. If these still things do not persuade you to get a good night’s sleep, you must know the beauty the sleeping process holds.
The beauty sleep process
Sleep is the only way for the body to repair, nourish and renew itself naturally. Not only does your body deserve it but the skin as well. Your brain, muscles, and epidermis relax by an increase in your blood flow. Your organs rebuild collagen and repair it from the damage caused by UV exposure. Think about not getting this process enough every day and expect that your skin will age faster, will be abused by environmental aggravators and stressors, and will have lesser quality.
Do not make the mistake of depending on caffeine and skincare products alone thinking those would compensate for less sleep because it is only through sleep that the products for your skincare routines can penetrate and expedite the beautification process and make apparent developments.
When you sleep and allow the body to repair, you are not defending it against the sun and free radicals so better and more focused blood flow is present. Better blood flows allow for responsive skin and this makes it perfect for your beauty products to penetrate it.
Pro tips for the sleeping beauty
Simple, age-old beauty tips, coupled with quality shuteye work like a charm. Washing of the face, the same with getting sleep, can dehydrate the skin so it’s also recommended for you to chug water and apply a topical moisturizer. A plain, unscented and simple moisturizer does the trick. It does not have to be all fancy and expensive. Sometimes, the less complicated products are usually the ones that work. If a moisturizer is not part of your dressing table, try a face mask instead. Let it sit in the fridge for a few minutes before applying it and relax while it is on your face.
The timing of food can also have an effect on your sleep. Food intake is a marker for the body to release insulin — a process also linked to the circadian rhythm as much as sleep. Food logically gives you energy so it sends wakefulness signals to the brain and intrudes your fall-asleep moment. Avoid eating food that undermines sleep and prioritize those that enhance it on your diet. Your roadway to quality sleep should be paired with healthy meals.
Before getting a shuteye, you can also play with some essential oils, put it in your diffuser or dab some on your pulse points. It is never wrong to help yourself be provided with all the best efforts to get quality sleep. Meditation can also help followed by a little reflection on things that turned both right and wrong within the day passing. This can give you concentration after a realization. Another thing you can do is to change your interior design, linens, and add a blackout curtain so that the sun does not get in the way of your recovery. You may also want to play a mellow track to put you to sleep, have at it.
On a more serious note…
Epstein (2019) recommends keeping televisions and computers away from the bedroom so that your brain only associates the bedroom with sleep, recuperation, and recovery. Studies also revealed that sleep restriction discourages your concentration abilities and can decrease your overall performance for work and other activities you need it.
Sleep is highly essential for job functions, especially for working adults. Companies even urge their employees to complete it. This is an obvious fact since more and more companies especially those working for the night shift in a physical office. Employees are provided with sleeping quarters complete with air conditioning, a soft bed, huge pillows, and a comfy thick blanket. This is because surprisingly, sleep deprivation also poses a threat to economic impact.
Forbes (2017) disclosed that every year, the effects of tired employees with reported cases of absenteeism contributed to the loss of productivity which cost $50 billion dollars per year in the United Kingdom, $130 billion in Japan, and $411 billion in the United States.
In other beautiful words…
Beauty sleep requires a holistic approach. It is not a one-time big-time thing. It needs to be accompanied by a lot of other elements that can help do their magic on you. This only means that aside from just sleeping through to beautiful skin, you also have to be particular about how you care for your mind and body, control what you eat, and take note of what you do on a daily basis.
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