Improve Your Skin Health By Getting More Quality Sleep

Everyone knows that sleep is an important ingredient in the ongoing beauty process. Quality sleep can help your skin heal, reduce breakouts, even your skin tone, and prevent bags under the eyes. Sleep helps us renew energy and gets us both physically and mentally ready for the day to come.

Unfortunately, if you are not getting enough quality sleep, your skin may suffer the consequences. Trouble sleeping is a very common problem that may be easier to solve than you think. Try out this tips and watch your sleep (and skin) improve.

Keep Your Room as Dark as Possible

Many people like to sleep with a night light or fall asleep while they have their TV on, but this is ultimately counterproductive to both falling and staying asleep. Light can disrupt your body’s production of melatonin and serotonin, hormones that regulate sleep. If you can, sleep in a pitch black room. If you have to get up at night, try to avoid turning on lights. This will disrupt your body’s sleep pattern.

Give Yourself Time to Wind Down

You don’t want to go to bed stressing about work or a school project, so put away your work an hour or two before bed and give yourself some time to clear your mind. Working up to the minute before you go to sleep will just keep you up longer and reduce the quality of sleep. Manage your time and avoid staying up past your bed time finishing work or cramming for a test. Meditation is a great way to clear your mind and relax your body before going to bed.

No Snacking Before Bed

There are a couple of reasons why you should avoid snacking before bed. First, if you go to bed with a full digestive system your body will have to focus more on digesting food instead of sleeping. Second, snacking can raise your blood sugar and inhibit sleep.

Don’t Watch TV in Bed

As I stated above, complete darkness is ideal for sleep, so that takes sleeping with the TV on out of the equation. In addition to being a source of light, your TV also acts as a kind of brain stimulation. Think about it, even when you are lying there with your eyes closed you are still listening to dialogue and plot progressions. You may not be paying full attention, but you are certainly aware of it. It is hard to get out of the habit of watching TV while falling asleep (I am struggling through it myself), but it is worth the effort. Moving the TV out of the bedroom is always an option.

Have a Consistent Bedtime

Changing when you go to bed every night will just confuse your body. Try to go to sleep and get up at the same time each night and day. Your body will fall into a routine that will make it easier to fall asleep and to wake up in the mornings. It is very tempting to sleep in on the weekends but do your best to keep to your routine. Getting up late on the weekends will just lead to going to sleep later and throwing your whole routine in a flux.

Use the Restroom before Bed

This one is pretty obvious. Don’t wake up in the middle of the night having to go.

Don’t Drink Liquids before Bed

Stop drinking liquids around 2 hours before sleep to reduce the chances of having to use the restroom in the middle of the night.

Steer Clear of Caffeine

Obviously you know not to drink a cup of coffee or a soda right before bed, but you may not know that caffeine can have longer lasting effects on some individuals. This means that a coffee in the afternoon could lead to difficulty sleeping at night.

Reduce Alcohol Intake

Alcohol will relax you and may even make you drowsy, but it does not allow your body to fall into deeper stages of sleep. Instead of having a glass of wine with dinner, try a glass of water.

Take a Hot Shower or Bath before Bedtime

Many of the other tips on this list can be seen annoying or inconvenient, but here is one that we can all rally behind. Pamper yourself with a hot bath or shower in the late evening. This will raise your body temperature. Your temperature will begin to fall when you are going to bed, making it easier to fall asleep.

 

Following the tips above will improve your sleep, your skin, and your overall health. If you still have trouble sleeping you will want to contact your doctor. For more information on how to get your skin looking its best, make an appointment with Threads Beauty Bar & Spa.