Beauty Sleep And You

Beauty sleep is an actual thing!

The term "beauty sleep" for most people is just that, a term. We use it as an expression, not really believing it has beauty-giving properties, or perhaps using it because the feeling, and the idea of sleep is just so beautiful after a busy, stressful day.

There are many studies which confirm how much our bodies need sleep, and yet how can Beauty Sleep be so little recognised? How much money do we all spend on beauty treatments, masks and makeup, only to neglect our sleep? Of course, we shouldn't underestimate the importance of a good pampering and the odd papering-and-filling of the cracks, but there's a miracle medicine right on our doorstep that is absolutely FREE!

Forget the facelift!

Does lack of sleep make a difference to your appearance?

A group of Swedish scientists a the Karolina Institute wanted to investigate this further, reasoning that they felt not enough visual research had been carried out into the matter. John Axelsson, responsible for the research said, "The field of sleep research is full of studies showing the physiological and cognitive consequences of disturbed sleep,” he says, “while there is clear lack of how poor sleep affects our everyday social life.”

Photographing one group of volunteers after 8 hours sleep and a separate group after 31 hours of sleep deprivation, the study was designed to observe how other people perceived the attractiveness of the sleepers and non-sleepers. Published in the BMJ, the study proved that the observers universally found that those volunteers with less sleep appeared less healthy and less attractive and (as one would expect) more tired.

So what about the science - what's happening with your body?

Bad sleep causes stress, which causes the capillaries to tighten, affecting the flow of nutrients to the skin, causing a dullness of complexion.

Geoff Wright, director of the Hair and Beauty Partnership, London, and an expert in the body clock explains "There are set times when the body clock dictates that processes will take place with our skin and hair. Between 8pm to 11pm is the time for hydration and stimulation, while 11pm to 3am is the time for nutrition and regeneration, and 3am to 5am is the time for resting."

Look after your sleep and it'll look after you!

Lack of sleep, or bad quality sleep, will have a terrible effect on our not just how we feel, but how we look too. The growth hormone only functions at night, so if you don't sleep, this doesn't function properly. Night-time and sleeping time is the time when our cells rebuild and repair themselves.

Good sleep will make you look & feel younger, fresher & more alive! Start your beauty regime with BETTER SLEEP TODAY!

[Sources: Karolinska Institute; Webmd; University of California, San Francisco, Daily Mail]