Left: Sheetal Rawal, scientist (human genetics) & founder of Apsara Skin Care
By: Marty S.
We will spend a significant portion of our life sleeping; it has been reported that all of us will spend up to a third of our life sleeping. Therefore, it is quite a shame when some people say that they do not or cannot get enough sleep every day. Because sleep is so important in our lives, it has a massive effect on many things, including the look and health of our skin and hair. If you aren’t getting enough sleep, you may start to develop skin issues like lines, wrinkles, lackluster skin, dark circles, and puffy eyes. As for your hair, you may begin to see issues like thinning hair, hair loss, and early graying. Plus, a lack of sleep typically puts your body into overdrive and causes a lot of stress, which, if you don’t know, is definitely not good for your skin and hair.
There are so many ramifications associated with a lack of sleep, but it can be fairly easy to correct. We compiled a list of 6 tips that can help you get better sleep, which will hopefully translate into youthful, gorgeous skin and hair. Even if your internal clock has been impaired for quite some time, you can still utilize some or all of these tips so don’t sleep on them!
1. Cut Off Your Screen Time 1 Hour Before You Go to Bed
Light - either natural or artificial - has a very potent effect on your sleep schedule. Getting natural light during the day is beneficial for your internal clock and can even help you sleep better at night. However, if you are exposed to a lot of artificial light at night, you might be having a more difficult time falling asleep and staying asleep. The reason for this is in order for your body to fall asleep, you need to produce a hormone called melatonin. When you are exposed to artificial light at night, your body believes that it is still daylight and will inhibit melatonin production.
One of the biggest perpetrators of sleep is LED (light-emitting diode) lights. While LED lights are energy efficient, they commonly emit blue light, which is a wavelength that is capable of wreaking havoc on your sleep schedule. Blue light has also been studied to inhibit melatonin production more than any other wavelength. Although they sometimes do not appear blue, LEDs are commonly used in electronics, appliances, et cetera. As a result, doing activities like watching TV, texting, and using a computer right before bed is harmful to your sleep schedule.
While you could cut out all electronics once the sun goes down, it is far easier to cut down on your screen time 1 hour before bed. That means no TV, computer, smartphone, or any other electronic activity. This will reduce your exposure to blue light and improve your ability to go to sleep. It may seem challenging at first, but it will become easier once you make it a regular habit. Plus, better sleep is a great way of making sure that your skin and hair stay healthy and youthful.
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2. Create a To-Do List Every Night
A to-do list is a fantastic way of keeping your life organized, but studies have shown that it may also lead to more restful sleep. There are two reasons for this. First, planning out
your day the night before can mitigate some or all of the stress you may feel as you try to drift off to sleep. Knowing what you plan to do the next day helps clear your mind and ease tension. Thus, when you have less to worry about, you can sleep much easier.
Second, when you are checking off tasks on your to-do list that you have accomplished during the day, you are reducing your risk of stress, which has an impact on the following night’s sleep. Instead of frantically remembering whether or not you’ve completed all your errands for your day, you have a written note to yourself to keep you accountable. This will allow you to fall asleep much easier knowing your to-do list has been accomplished for the day.
Creating tomorrow’s to-do list throughout the day is a wonderful idea, but doing it right before bed is beneficial too. Some people even take it a step further and journal before bed. Perhaps, after you’ve made this a habit, you’ll start to take note of the good things that are happening to your skin and hair.
3. Go to Bed with an Attitude of Surrender & Gratitude
Even if you have completed your to-do list for the day and you already made a to-do list for the next day, there could still be a few lingering thoughts or emotions running through your head. For instance, you might be nervous about an upcoming event or a decision you made during the day. It is easy to get worked up over these thoughts, which will leave you more stressed out and less receptive to sleep.
Therefore, our advice to you here is to adopt an attitude of surrender and gratitude the moment you go to bed. It is important to learn how to let go of things you can’t control, especially since bedtime is the time of day when you typically have the least amount of control. What you should do instead is focus on the things in your life that you are grateful for. Focusing your mind on the good stuff in your life rather than bad can be very conducive to a good night’s sleep. It can calm you down and help you go to sleep with a feeling of content and appreciation of your life. You may even begin to appreciate your newfound beautiful skin and hair because of your restful sleep!
4. Do Some Short Breathing Exercises Before Bed
Along with mentally preparing yourself and changing your attitude, practicing breathing exercises can help you sleep better. Breathing exercises are a way of physically calming your body down so that it is in a resting state. They help you focus more on the rhythm of your body and less on your thoughts and emotions; it can relax your muscles, slow down your heart rate, and lower your blood pressure.
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5. Consider Taking Natural Sleeping Supplements Like Melatonin
In an ideal scenario, you shouldn’t need to take a supplement to get better sleep. If you have a normal lifestyle and you just want to get to sleep faster, you should not take melatonin. Instead, you should simply allow your body to do its job. However, some of us do not have a regular sleep schedule. This could be due to your job, frequent jet lag from travel, insomnia, et cetera. You may be having a hard time falling asleep because you occasionally have to sleep during the day or your body is too worked up to fall asleep. If that is the case for you, you should consider taking a natural sleep supplement like melatonin.
As we’ve mentioned previously, melatonin is a hormone that your body produces in order for you to fall asleep. It is naturally high at night, and it ebbs in the morning. By taking a melatonin supplement, you are increasing the amount of melatonin in your system, which, in turn, can help you sleep better. Nevertheless, melatonin supplements are not guaranteed to make you fall asleep. Some people might not be as receptive to these supplements as others so it is important to talk to a doctor to figure out what natural sleeping supplement works best for you and your lifestyle.
With any luck, taking a natural supplement like melatonin and getting more restful sleep may lead to you getting naturally gorgeous skin and hair.
6. Make Adjustments to Your Bedroom Environment
For many of us, our bedroom does not merely function as a place to sleep. It can also be a place to relax, eat, and hang out with friends. As a result, our bedroom can become a
somewhat ineffective sleeping environment. When it is time to go to bed, you may be struggling to fall asleep because of what is in your bedroom.
One of the first adjustments you should make to your bedroom in order to improve your sleep quality is to invest in blackout curtains. Light from the outside can hinder your ability to go to sleep, and it can wake you up prematurely, disrupting a natural sleep cycle. Sometimes, regular curtains might not be enough to block light. Blackout curtains, though, are thicker and heavier than regular curtains and more effectively repel light from the outside. There are even some blackout curtains that are capable of reducing outside noise and insulating your bedroom. In addition, using blackout curtains regularly may be good for your mental health.
Another adjustment you should make is to turn off any LED lights in your bedroom. Above, we discussed why it is important to not have any screen time 1 hour before bed. Thus, that same reasoning is applicable here, too. Having bright LED lights in your bedroom when you are trying to make it as dark as possible is not a good idea. Turning those lights off or repositioning them puts less strain on your eyes and melatonin levels as you try to fall asleep. If you own an alarm clock that uses LED lights, make sure that you place it so that its light does not bother you, but you will still be able to hear it once it goes off.
By making your bedroom more sleep-friendly, you will most likely wake up feeling more rested and with more beautiful skin and hair.
If you are in dire need of skin or hair care advice to stay flawless and youthful, fill out this form and you will get a reply from Sheetal asap.
Go natural. It is good karma!
