The Truth Behind Why You Really Need your Beauty Sleep

What are 3 little words someone can say to you that will instantly drain your energy and wipe the smile right off your face?

“You look tired…”

You. Look. Tired

…followed by, “is everything ok?”

It’s absolutely the last thing you want to hear when you’re struggling to keep your eyes open.
However, when you’re tired and sleep deprived it’s quite literally written all over your face.

On the flip side, if you can string together a couple of good night’s sleep, you’ll be wondering where that youthful glow has come from!

SO WHAT’S THE TRUTH BEHIND THE MYTH?

When we’re young, we can more easily ignore the signs that our body needs more rest.
However, as we age it becomes harder and harder to ignore the signs like dark circles, more pronounced wrinkles, poor skin tone and breakouts.

Did you know that while you’re sleeping, your body is busy on a mission to replenish and restore?

You might be asleep, but this is the busiest time of the day for your body! …which is why you really need those 7- 9hrs sleep.
For instance, as your body settles into its deepest stage of rest, your growth hormones peak and stimulate cell and tissue repair.

Without enough deep sleep, the repair processes in your skin will be slowed, resulting in increased signs of ageing.

So we’ve got for you…

5 REASONS WHY YOU NEED YOUR BEAUTY SLEEP

#1. Melatonin

Recent studies have highlighted a problem with the blue light that’s emitted from our devices, tablets, phones etc.

Blue light exposure at night time is shown to have a huge impact on our ability to get to sleep, decreasing our melatonin production and disrupting our circadian rhythm.

A key factor in how human sleep is regulated is exposure to light and darkness.
This is controlled by the tiny pineal gland in the brain which is responsible for producing the hormone, melatonin.

Melatonin is your chief anti-ageing antioxidant and a powerful free-radical scavenger.
The less sleep you get, the harder it is for your body to harness the anti-aging benefits of melatonin.

Research has also examined how melatonin can stimulate the growth of fibroblasts.
Those are the cells that produce collagen and elastin to help keep skin smooth and wrinkle free.

The great news is, you can reduce the blue light glare and its effects by using our Blue Light Blocking Beauty Sleep Glasses.

Make the most of your anti-ageing melatonin and block as much blue light as you can at nighttime to get those all important 7 – 9hrs sleep a night.

#2. Stress

Stress is a major contributor to skin damage and for speeding up the signs of ageing.

When your levels of the stress hormone, cortisol, are increased you won’t sleep as deeply or as soundly.
You may also wake more often and find it hard to settle back to sleep.

High levels of cortisol are also linked to an increase in inflammation. Think aching limbs, swollen joints, abdominal pain and more.

Not only that… skin conditions such as acne, eczema, psoriasis and rosacea, are shown to become worse when we have high levels of systemic inflammation.

Stress is, of course, unavoidable at times.
But by introducing some simple bedtime routines you may find it easier to wind down before it’s time to sleep.

Try:

• dimming the lights
• turning your devices off a couple of hours before bed
• lighting a candle or two, or
• taking a warm bath

If you haven’t discovered the wonders of magnesium yet, then why not try our Replenishing Mineral Bath Salts?
Magnesium is just one of the minerals in our bath salts. It’s needed for over 300 enzymatic reactions in the body and can help prepare you for sleep by calming your central nervous system.

Most of us don’t have enough of this important mineral, and taking a bath in Mineral Salts is a super soothing way of increasing your intake.

#3. Oxidative stress (free radicals)

If you aren’t managing to get into the deep sleep part of your sleep cycle, then you’re at risk of an accumulation of free radicals causing oxidative stress.

During the night, your body deals with all of those pesky free radicals that it doesn’t like. From chemicals in your household cleaners to the stress hormone cortisol itself.

Free radical damage causes wrinkles by activating enzymes that break down collagen.
Collagen is like the scaffolding of our skin, providing strength and structure, ensuring skin stays smooth and supple!

Your tissue repair happens at night, when you’re in deep sleep.
If you don’t reach this state, or stay there long enough, then your collagen production will be limited.

You can easily add collagen to your diet!
Read our blog post on the top 5 beauty benefits of gelatin to find out more.

#4. Lymphatic system

Your lymphatic system will struggle to cope if you aren’t sleeping well.

This often overlooked process is absolutely vital to your body’s ability to:

• detoxify
• regenerate tissue
• filter your metabolic waste, and
• keep your immune system healthy

Isn’t it amazing that this is all happening while you sleep?
It’s a powerful reason for reviewing your sleep habits.

Poor lymphatic drainage and fluid accumulation leads to puffy eyes or the appearance of dark circles around the eyes.

Staying well hydrated, keeping your pillow level and considering sleeping with an eye mask will help you to avoid the bags under the eyes look.

Our Beauty Sleep Mask will help to further protect the delicate skin around your eyes, preventing moisture loss and pillow creases.
Especially if you tend to sleep on your side.
The Beauty Sleep Masks also block out any light that could disrupt your sleep.

#5. Sugar

Sleep and sugar don’t mix.

If you’ve put yourself on the sugar roller coaster…
When your blood sugar levels eventually crash, your body naturally releases cortisol, the stress hormone.
Making your body ready for action… not ready for sleep.

Also, if your body is busy trying to balance out your blood sugar levels, it will be harder for you to sink into that much-needed deep sleep.

Unfortunately this is self perpetuating.
…and once you wake up, tired from a bad night’s sleep, you’ll more than likely want to reach for a sugary breakfast or snack to keep you going.

Cue unhappy, dull skin and breakouts from the excess sugar consumption and dark circles from your lack of sleep.

So next time you find yourself reaching for that evening biccie… think about how much your skin will thank you for 7 – 9hrs of restorative sleep instead.

It’s amazing how hard your body is working while you’re sleeping isn’t it?

Understanding more about why you need your beauty sleep, might have led to you ask how you can achieve those all important 7 – 9hrs of good quality sleep.
Keep an eye out for our blog post on mastering the art of beauty sleep!

…and the next time you’re tempted to stay up late to have fun, do, it’s every bit as important for your mental wellbeing.

Just remember that the day after your body, your mind, and your skin will need you to indulge in a few early nights so that it can repair and restore.

Resources:

• Guy Meadows – The Sleep School, UK
• The National Sleep Foundation
• Natural Medicine Journal
• WebMD
• Sleepbetterlivebetter.com
• Wisegeek

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