Your blood pressure drops, your breathing slows allowing blood to flow to your muscles, repairing tissue. Growth hormones that are critical for cell repair and regeneration are getting produced, and your glymphatic system works on detoxing. That is what happens in your body during restorative sleep. Not getting enough sleep or having poor-quality sleep does not only take away the chance of regeneration, but it also causes inflammation in your body. With regard to beauty, the value of sleep is that it gives your skin time to rebuild itself. Your skin uses the time during sleep to heal itself from the environmental stressors it was exposed to during the day, eliminates depleted skin cells and creates new cells to take their place, and builds collagen. Plus, your products work on a more superior level when you sleep, since the increased blood flow makes your skin more absorbent to their ingredients.
So?! Sleep, right?! But not just any kind of sleep (*no no finger wag*). An eight-hour, deep, restorative REM sleep – that is the qey to beauty. That is when your body repairs itself and regenerates. Now what exactly comprises restorative sleep (aka beauty sleep), and how do you maintain a healthy, circadian rhythm? Let me break it down for you...
1. You need the seven to eight hours. This is the time your body needs to finish the whole regeneration process, and if you cut back on that time, then you are reducing the amount of time your body has to regenerate.
2. Consistency. Go to bed at the same time, every night. Only if you are consistent with your bedtimes, you will maintain a healthy circadian system and that will make it easier for you to fall asleep every single night of the week.
3. Your sleep space. Your environment plays a crucial role in the quality of your sleep. Needless to say, in your ideal sleep space is a comfortable mattress, pillow, and bedding — but equally important, you need complete darkness. Even with your eyes closed, your body responds to light by suppressing melatonin which affects sleep quality and duration. You also need a room temperature between 16-22 degrees Celsius, and no mobile phones or computers.
4. What you do before bedtime impacts your sleep quality, too. Certainly light has a significant impact, as mentioned above, due to its effect on your circadian rhythm, tricking your brain into thinking it’s still daytime and suppressing melatonin which is needed to help you relax and get deep sleep. Blue light — which electronic devices like smartphones and computers emit in large amounts — is the worst in this regard. Hence, try to not expose yourself to TV and smartphones two hours before bed, and if you can’t, wear glasses that block blue light or install apps that block blue light on your devices.
Voila, now you know everything you need to know to create your ultimate beauty sleep. And a little (but mighty) beauty secret of mine that perfects your beauty sleep: silk. Sleeping on a silk pillowcase will keep your skin crease-free and your hair smooth. Put on a skin-loving silk sleep mask as well to ensure complete darkness in your sleep space is given, and you are all set for deep, restorative zzz's at its finest.
With Love,
E
