We’ve all heard the saying "get your beauty sleep"- From mom using it as a reason why, no, you cannot stay up just one more hour in middle school, to the excuse that coworker who never likes to go out after work will nonchalantly give.
“Getting your beauty sleep” is a well-known adage, but did you know there is a scientifically-proven truth to why you sometimes wake up after a long night of partying, studying, or binge-watching looking like death?
Living in NYC, it can be especially easy to pull an all-nighter; burning the midnight oil at the office or when “just one drink” turns into bar-hopping til sunrise, most of us are familiar with getting less sleep than we should (6-9 hours for adults).
You Look So Tired!
Aside from feeling exhausted, another nasty sign that you may not be well-rested can be seen right on your face. Dry skin, dark under-eye circles and a less than glowing complexion are all symptoms of not getting enough sleep.
The bed brand Sealy UK conducted a study recently to learn more about sleeping habits to better observe the correlation between sleeping well and improved appearance.
Results showed that individuals felt a significant improvement in having brighter eyes (42%), a brighter complexion (21%), clearer skin (20%), fewer wrinkles (17%) and improved skin condition (11%).
“Sleep is a regenerative process where we heal and where our neurons build strong connections. It’s like a fountain of youth that we dive into every night."- Osteopathic Doctor Mikhail Varshavski.
This regenerative process occurs mostly during non-REM sleep, an important part of the cycle that occurs four out of eight hours of rest. It’s during this point that this natural skin reparation can actually happen.
Anti-inflammatory agents during the sleepy cycle can also help with simple water retention to reducing outside damages caused by pollution and sun exposure.
It’s clear that a regularly healthy amount of sleep can help prevent all of that nasty stuff we hate to see in the mirror along with feeling dead AF.
However, aside from trying to avoid long nights and unhealthy habits (which you should), there are some tricks you can also practice to ease these long-night symptoms that we all are too familiar with.
Easy Tricks To Help Soothe Sleepy Skin
1). Brew 2 bags of green tea! You should probably save the tasty beverage for tomorrow because of the caffeine, but toss those seeped bags in the fridge and put them on your sleepy eyes after a long night. The caffeine will help shrink blood vessels and the cold temperature will assist in ridding puffiness from your eyes.
2). Eat a lot of fruits high in antioxidants! Apples, blueberries, blackberries, and raspberries can contribute to those sleepless nights with their ability to increase healthy blood flow.
3). Regular exercise will help decrease the stress hormone, Cortisol, which can cause fat retention and even hair loss. A bit of at-home yoga will do the trick if you’re not feeling up for a full-on gym workout. Anything that gets your blood pumping will help circulate blood flow to your face.
4). Being more aware of your sleep schedule can help you improve not only your skin but your overall health and happiness.
Feature image credit: [Pixabay]
