better sleep = better skin

Discover six easy ways to up your zzzzz game.



You can’t have great skin without good sleep. It’s the only time skin can truly repair itself: stress hormones taper off, giving skin time to regenerate. Collagen production ramps up, smoothing out fine lines. Human growth hormone is produced in higher volumes, too, adding muscle mass that strengthens and firms.

But for many of us, a good night’s sleep isn’t as simple as turning in earlier. Whether you can’t fall asleep or can’t stay asleep, you’re not alone: More than 70 million American adults suffer from a sleep disorder.¹

But you can sleep better! These six easy tips will take the edge off, giving you more zzzs (and improved skin):

 

1. Turn off electronics and dim the lights 30 minutes before bedtime.

Resist the urge to scroll through Instagram while you wind down: the blue light emitted by computers, tablets, TVs and your smartphone prevent the production of melatonin, a hormone that tells your body it’s time for bed.

2. Make your room as dark as possible and slightly cool.

Your optic nerves sense even small doses of light as you sleep. Even a sliver of light beneath the door can make your body think it’s time to wake up. Adjust the thermostat, too: your body temperature dips during sleep, so setting the temperature around 20 degrees helps you fall asleep faster.²

3. Avoid alcohol, caffeine and sugar before bed.

Alcohol-induced sleep doesn’t have the same restorative qualities for your body and brain. Caffeine is another culprit: since coffee has a half-life of five hours, 12.5% of your morning cup is still in your system 20 hours after you drink it!³ Finally, sugar causes your blood sugar to spike – leading to crashes that can impair hormone function.4

4. Breathe deeply to calm and relax your body.

Our breathing slows and deepens when we sleep – so practice some deep breathing beforehand to help your body get ready for some zzzzs. You can also try sounds that helps induce relaxing, restorative sleep for glowing skin by morning.

5. Go to sleep and wake up at the same time each day.

Our bodies’ circadian rhythms, or internal clocks, last twenty-four hours. Some studies show that skin cells abide by 24-hour clocks, too.5 Disrupting the cycle by going to bed early one night and late the next throws our bodies off, giving skin too little time to regenerate.

6. In the morning, seek out bright light to help regulate your biological clock.

Light tells your body it’s time to wake up, helping circadian rhythms keep up with reality. Turn on lights as you get dressed, open blinds while brushing your teeth, or invest in a “sunrise clock” – an alarm clock that gradually brightens your room before it wakes you up in the morning.

 

1 https://www.forbes.com/sites/neilhowe/2017/08/18/america-the-sleep-deprived/#3f4feaf41a38
2 https://www.simplemost.com/science-says-sleeping-cold-room-better-health-because-body-heat/
3 https://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2013/05/02/worst-sleep-foods.aspx
4 https://www.zocdoc.com/answers/10223/can-consuming-too-much-sugar-affect-someones-sleep
5 https://www.chronobiology.com/skin-and-circadian-rhythm-the-internal-clocks-of-skin-cells/