There’s a really good reason sleep deprivation is used to torture people. It makes you irritable, confused, depressed, and a whole host of other things. On a more superficial level, it can make you look, well, not quite your best. That’s why it’s so important to make sure you’re getting enough of it! In this article, we’ll talk about the importance of getting enough sleep for your health, what beauty sleep actually means, the benefits of great sleep, and discuss some tips about how to get that beauty sleep. Read on to find out why sleep and beauty go hand in hand!
IN A NUTSHELL
Main Takeaways: A lack of sleep affects everything from your judgment to your looks, which is why it’s so crucial to make sure you’re getting enough sleep.
Good to Know: Really small changes (like shutting down your screens at least an hour before bed) can make a big difference when it comes to getting the right amount of beauty sleep!
Recommended Products: Eyes Eyes Baby Anti-Aging Eye Cream.
What is Beauty Sleep?
As you may or may not know, we actually go through stages when we sleep. The first stage is called non-REM sleep and it lasts about an hour to an hour and a half. It’s basically when you go from being awake to entering what’s called “deep sleep.” After you reach deep sleep, you’ll eventually reach REM or Rapid Eye Movement sleep. This is when your dreams become much more intense and you’ll experience rapid breathing and eye movements, among other things.
Beauty sleep is usually considered the time during which you’re in the “deep sleep” phase. During this time, your pituitary glands produce growth hormones that help generate new skin cells, which is why getting the right amount of sleep is so crucial.
Beauty sleep also refers to the amount of sleep you’re getting. Although everyone’s different, the general consensus is that most adults need about seven-to-nine hours a night to be their healthiest.
What Happens When You Don’t Get Enough Beauty Sleep?
Most of us know how irritable we can get when we don’t get enough sleep, but few of us really understand just how much a lack of beauty sleep affects our skin. Here are just a few of the ways in which a lack of beauty sleep can affect your appearance:
- Not enough beauty sleep causes dark circles: There are probably a few reasons for this, one of which is that a lack of sleep causes your skin to become pale, making the skin under your eyes look darker.
- Not enough beauty sleep causes you to age faster: We don’t mean literally, but missing out on much needed rest means you aren’t giving your body time to repair itself, resulting in your skin appearing older than it should.
- Not enough beauty sleep causes skin to appear dull: A lack of sleep can cause inflammation, which causes skin to look dull and lifeless.
The Benefits of Sleep
Just as a lack of sleep can cause your skin not to look its best, getting in quality sleep can reap some fabulous benefits! Here are just a few:
- Great beauty sleep can give you brighter eyes: When you get enough beauty sleep, your eyes have a tendency to look brighter and more focused. Using an eye cream before bed will help boost those benefits.
- Great beauty sleep can lead to fewer wrinkles: The more beauty sleep you get, the more time you’re giving your skin to heal and renew, allowing your body to create more collagen, thus working to minimize fine lines and wrinkles.
- Great beauty sleep can help your skin keep its glow: When you are well rested, your body is given time to heal and replenish itself, and this includes your skin. This also means that the products you are using, like a vitamin C serum, may be more effective.
How To Get Better Beauty Sleep
Luckily, it’s fairly simple to make sure you’re getting the beauty sleep you need. Here are a few suggestions of easy steps to take to make sure you’re getting in those zzzzzs.
Turn Off Your Screens
You know how it goes: you say you’ll just watch one more video before going to bed and before you know it, you’ve reached the end of the internet. Make a “no screens after nine o’clock” rule and we bet you’ll be getting a lot more sleep!
Avoid Caffeine
For most people, having caffeine after, say, six o’clock or so, is like asking not to fall asleep. If you cut off all caffeine by the end of your work day, you’ll likely have better results falling asleep at bedtime.
Come Up With a Wind Down Routine
Whether that’s light exercise, meditation, or just going through your skincare regimen , this is a great psychological tool to signal your brain and your body that sleep is on the way.
Use a Sleep App
From apps that tell bedtime stories for adults, to those that play soothing rain sounds, the sleeping apps now available are pretty incredible and effective (and most allow you to try them out for free).
Use a Sleep Mask and Maybe Ear Plugs
Some of us are such incredibly light sleepers that anything can wake us up–a bird chirping outside, a sliver of light coming through the windows–anything! Using an eye mask and ear plugs can at least minimize the chances of waking up and interrupting sleep.
We hope that this article not only gives you some great ideas about the benefits of beauty sleep, but how to get more of it!
