beauty sleep
are you like me, wondering if an increased urge to sleep during those last days of winter has any benefit? i have not exactly been hibernating ... life is just too busy for that, but the long nights and chilly temperatures definitely have me prioritizing sleep. the term beauty sleep comes to mind, because let’s face it, all of us look and feel better when we are well rested.
"your skin, and your whole body, go into repair mode when you sleep," says doris j. day, who wrote the book forget the facelift.
while you sleep, your skin renews itself. new skin cells grow and replace older cells. "it's repairing and restoring and rebalancing," day says.
below is a link that is interesting to me,
www.sleepdex.org/beautysleep.htm.
here’s some of what I found interesting … and it certainly reduced my guilt about pull the covers up and hitting the snooze button.
”you need good sleep for your whole body, not just your skin. chronic sleep problems are linked to high blood pressure, heart disease, diabetes, and depression.”
“deep sleep is accompanied by an increased secretion of growth hormones necessary for repairing and rebuilding body tissues like muscle and bone.”
“activity in parts of the brain that control emotions, decision-making processes, and social interactions is drastically reduced during deep sleep, suggesting that this type of sleep may help people maintain optimal emotional and social functioning while they are awake. “
skin care products have come a long way since your mother’s era, but even then, cleansing the skin and a slathering of ‘night cream’ was the habit of most women from all walks of life. today, products are tested for efficacy. There are documented results and most of us do follow suit with an application of serum or cream at night before our beauty sleep.
interestingly, some cosmetic products are susceptible to sunlight and you consequently get more out of them if you use them before bed. antioxidants such as vitamins C and E will stay active on your skin longer if you apply them at night.
many clients find that overnight hair masques keep hair hydrated between salon treatments. we hear rave reviews for the conditioning benefits of oribe gold lust oil being used on the hair overnight.
while I like to think that I am “banking “ sleep at times, the body does not store the benefit. more hours than you need are not stored and don't help your mental and physical recovery later in the week when you get shortchanged on sleep. so forget the guilt about your urge to sleep, and aim for 7 to 9 hours as often as your schedule will permit!
beauty sleep cannot be bottled and sold … that goes without saying, but i’ve listed some products below that are perfect for enhancing your beauty sleep.
oribe gold lust oil … 1.7 oz. $38, 3.4 oz. $50
ab serums … restorer, luminizer, improver, $89 each
environs hydrating facial oil capsules … $91