Truth In Aging Series – Sleep

How Lack of Sleep Lacks Life

If you read our previous blog article ‘How Your Sleep Habits Affect Your Health’, then you understand that whether you get too much sleep or too little, it has some immediate affects on your health. Too much sleep causes your brain to function less efficiently, while too little sleep makes it difficult to keep your energy up throughout the day. Whether you get too much, too little, or just enough, your sleep habits affect every single aspect of your life. But have you ever considered how your sleep habits can make or break your physical body and overall health several years down the road?

The majority of beauty bloggers, health and fitness gurus, and skincare experts will focus on products, supplements, and other methods for ensuring that you can maintain the most youthful you, even during your autumn years. Advertisements in magazines, on websites, and billboards will claim the best anti-aging benefits come from their special cream or services for laser surgery. But you could get anti-aging benefits right in your home – from getting a good night’s sleep regularly. Rejuvenate your mind, body, and appearance by adjusting your sleep schedule!

 

Letting Your Skin Sleep

First, we will focus on how your sleep habits can affect the way you look. We will all earn those signs of aging at some point in our lives, and there is no escaping it. However, we can take certain precautions in taking care of our bodies correctly to delay these tell-tale signs from creeping up on us, and looking older than we would like to. One such precaution lies in getting enough sleep each night. The drastic effects that your sleep habits might have on your skin will surprise you, and make you want to reset your inner clock.

A study conducted at the University Hospitals Case Medical Center suggests that sleep habits definitely impact your complexion. Using sixty pre-menopausal women, all between ages thirty and forty nine, this study demonstrated that sleep deprivation and poor quality rest directly hinder the skin’s ability to recover from damages – be they environmental or otherwise. This means that the cells do not regenerate as efficiently as possible, leaving exhausted cells on the surface of your skin. Dull, lifeless skin may come as a result.

The most likely reason behind this connection lies in less human growth hormone, which your body releases when you sleep. This hormone regulates cell regeneration in your tissues, including muscle, epidermis, and bones. As a main component in efficient tissue repair, less of human growth hormone can lead to your skin not healing or regenerating cells the way it is supposed to. Your epidermis may not shed dead cells to reveal the new, fresh ones as a consequence to skipping out on your rest.

Reduced sleep also results in reduced ability to recover from damages caused by the sun, wind, and other outside elements. Sun exposure is often the main culprit in developing age spots, when melanin concentrates more in a single area. Thus, less sleep can lead to uneven pigmentation. The less sleep you get, the more age spots you will likely develop. Additionally, the same lack of cell regeneration can lead to wounds not healing well, leading to more noticeable scars.

With less sleep comes a heightened production of the hormone cortisol in your body. Cortisol is a hormone released from stress, and it degrades the reserves of collagen. Collagen keeps your skin elastic, smooth, and supple. Thus, you are more likely to develop wrinkles and fine lines earlier in life when you bypass a good night of rest. Crow’s feet, sagging skin, and  deepened wrinkles around the mouth will become a reality at an earlier age with less sleep.

The study concluded that depriving your body of sleep will double the rate of aging for your skin. The participating women who got ample amounts of sleep were more likely to find themselves attractive than the women who did not. If sleep affects your skin so much, imagine what it does to your body as a whole. It can cause multiple problems for your health – especially as you get older. So, you may want to reconsider that all-nighter you were planning if you want to have youthful energy in your old age.

 

Sacrifice Sleep – Sacrifice Health

Bad sleep habits will affect more than just your skin, and can make every aspect of your life far more stressful and difficult to handle on a day to day basis. Sleep deprivation has both immediate affects on your health, and side effects that you will not notice until later down the road. It stresses your physical body, which will in turn stress your mentality as well. People who do not get enough sleep documented as five times more likely to experience depression than those getting a full eight hours. It changes the way your body handles stress for the worse, and can influence your relationships as a result. The myriad of health issues beneath the skin should concern you, if your skin’s condition does not.

Plus, if you want to maintain a good level of energy throughout your life, then you will want to maintain a healthy weight. Sleep deprivation over long courses can lead to obesity, since your body is exhausted and hoards carbs for energy. Sleep deprivation can pave the way for obesity by spiking insulin levels, and causing your body to metabolize sugar less efficiently. Thus, insulin receptors stop working the way they should, causing weight gain. Obesity puts you at greater risk for serious health problems in the future as well – health problems that sleep deprivation will already add to.

Heart disease, stroke, heart attack, heart failure, and diabetes are all more likely to develop when you mix sleep deprivation with obesity. The more exhausted you get, the less your body can perform its usual functions properly. In turn, it becomes exhausted – including your heart and brain. Plus, the aforementioned inability to produce fresh cells as needed will contribute to these health problems, making it more difficult for your body to recover properly. Another obvious effect of lacking on your nightly sleep is an unbalanced endocrine system – which seems obvious due to the amount of hormones already mentioned that are affected by no sleep.

Clearly, lack of sleep will leave you with much more than a tired feeling that lingers all day long, dark circles under your eyes, and an absence of energy. Regular sleep deprivation has lasting effects on your appearance and your health, making it more difficult for your body to function regularly, and recover properly from any issues it might encounter. You could get sick more, become irritable and grouchy, develop depression and obesity… The list goes on and on. Luckily, there are some natural ways to get back on track with your sleeping and waking cycles.

 

Set Your Sleep Schedule Right!

A number of issues can aggravate your sleep schedule. Maybe you lie awake at night worrying about school or work, or a family member. Maybe you stay up to get that last bit of work in because you are a dedicated employee or student. You might have an infant crying out, or perhaps your schedule is out of whack due to working irregular shifts. Regardless of the obstacles getting in the way of your rest, you have options to help you get better sleep. Plus, you will feel younger for longer and look better and healthier as a result. For anti-aging at its best, get some rest!

First and foremost, start practicing good sleep hygiene, which consists of a number of practices like scheduling evening meals at certain times, turning off all screens an hour before bedtime, and ensuring you get enough exercise during the day. Spending excess energy during the day could keep you from feeling restless at night. Read our blog ‘How Your Sleep Habits Affect Your Health’ to discover some of these practices. It goes into detail about how to implement sleep hygiene into your daily schedule to maximize your night’s rest.

Next, implement some natural remedies to sleep issues to help get your body back on board with a sleep routine. When I struggled with insomnia as a result from depression, I had a few go-to options. I would take a dose of melatonin tablets about an hour before I wanted to hit the hay. Melatonin is a hormone your body produces naturally to promote a balanced schedule of sleeping and waking. Taking this supplement until you get your sleep schedule regulated will help your body know when its bedtime.

I would also brew a tisane of organic chamomile and organic peppermint tea. Chamomile is known for its abilities in reducing anxiety, discomfort, and promoting relaxation. Thus, it works well for getting your mind to wind down after a long day. Peppermint works on the physical body, as a relaxant for muscles due to the menthol. The two blended together and taken with melatonin worked almost within the hour each time to relax me.

Other options are available as well, including valerian root, which works as a natural sedative. If you need a stronger option for a tea to take to bed, then this may provide a better option. You could also implement lavender tea, as lavender performs in a manner similar to that of chamomile. Multiple tisanes and teas exist on the market that can help you find good sleep hygiene. Select an organic brand that suits you best.

You may also want to implement aromatherapy as a ritualistic option to promote better sleep habits. Select incense, essential oils, and candles scented with lemon balm, lavender, peppermint, chamomile, or rosemary to promote good blood circulation and calmness. The smells will help your body become familiar with your designated bedtime once you make a habit of using aromatherapy on a nightly basis.

Of course, implementing healthy practices will work wonders for your body as a whole. Eat a diet consisting of mostly raw, organic fruits, vegetables, and grains, and make sure you get your daily dose of vitamins and minerals. These practices can resolve many imbalances that your body may acquire over time, including the way you process stress. Finally, kick toxic chemicals out of your skin-care as well! Many of the chemicals used in conventional skin-care products contribute to, if not cause, endocrine disruptions – which can have an enormous effect on your ability to fall asleep and stay asleep.

 

Find Natural Anti-Aging Options with Face Naturals

We want to help you rediscover a healthy, beautiful life by providing you with information on options that could help you. Each individual has a unique remedy from nature that can improve their quality of life, no matter what. We seek to empower those individuals by informing them about those options, and educating our readers on topics that may affect their health, families, and communities. Keep up with our blog to learn more about what affects your health, and ways that you can mend it naturally.

Face naturals also offers a line of authentically natural skin-care products made with organic botanicals to help you along in your healing process. We only source the best quality ingredients to keep our customers naturally beautiful and toxin-free. Eliminate carcinogenic chemicals from your skin-care collection, and jump on board with our healthy mission. Maximize your natural health from the inside out by contacting us. We will help you make your selections! Simply provide some information about your skin, what you wish to accomplish, and which products interest you, and we will get you pointed in the right direction.

 

References

• A Lack of Sleep Leads to an Aging Brain and Speeds Up Human Aging
• 10 Things to Hate About Sleep Loss
• Lack of Sleep Can Double the Signs of Aging Skin and Make It Harder to Recover from Sunburn
• Sleep Deprivation Linked to Aging Skin, Study Suggests
• Herbs and Remedies for Insomnia