Win the Battle for Beauty Sleep

“The biggest beauty essential is as simple as a good, full night’s sleep.” – Angela Kinsey

Let’s face it; most of us lead lives that are frequently too busy and complicated.  Our many responsibilities and pursuits can create a stressful way of life unless we learn to relax; to rest and enjoy a good night’s sleep on a regular basis.

At times in life, however, sleep escapes us.  You may find it takes your hours to fall asleep.  You may wake up periodically throughout the night.  Or, you may awake early, feeling tired, yet find it impossible to doze off again.

And nothing can ruin an attractive appearance faster than lack of sleep-unless it is a series of bad night’s sleep.  Tired eyes, a dulled complexion, sagging posture, low spirits and a mind nearly numb do nothing to add to your looks or your charm.

The quantity of sleep you get may not be the issue in whether you feel your night was well spent. Not everyone needs the traditional eight hours sleep per night.  Many get along on six or seven, some few on four, and others need 10 hours of sleep to awake feeling refreshed.

Use a journal to record your sleep time for a two-week period and include a note about how you felt each morning upon rising.  If you regularly wake up feeling tired and sluggish throughout the day, you may not be getting enough sleep or at least not enough quality sleep.

It’s the quality of sleep that is important to maintain.  Sleep researchers tell us that a short, deep sleep does far more than a long disturbed sleep.  If you wake up refreshed, you’ve had enough, no matter how many hours it lasted.

Poor quality sleep time may be the result of poor pre-sleep habits. A midnight meal one night and a six o’clock supper the next can interfere with sleep cycles. Heavy eating before going to bed keeps your body busy with digestion when it should be slowing down.  You might be unpleasantly disturbed with a bad case of heartburn or an upset stomach.  Allow yourself four or five hours between your final meal and sleep-time.

Avoid alcohol, coffee, tea and cola drinks, sugar and salt before bed.  Alcohol, while inducing sleep initially, will cause you to wake up early and generally with a hangover.  Coffee, tea and cola drinks contain caffeine that tends to interfere with your ability to sleep.  It may remain in your system as long as seven hours.  Herb teas, such as peppermint or chamomile tea can be a pleasant sleep-promoting nightcap.

It’s wise to avoid the vastly overprescribed variety of sleeping medications.  The Food and Drug Administration continually warns us about the addicting and damaging side effects that may accompany these drugs.

Chemicals included in these medications are often in quantities larger than required to simply induce sleep and instead depress the entire central nervous system.  Amounts of these chemicals may linger in your body causing headache and hangover effects. They should be used only as a last resort and then be prescribed only for a brief period of time.

It hunger pangs from an empty stomach rob you of your beauty sleep, snack lightly on protein-rich foods, rather than carbohydrates.  Cheese, cottage cheese, milk, buttermilk and yogurt are all good before-bed foods.  They contain the sleep-inducing amino acid, tryptophan, as well as calcium and lactic acids, which also trigger sleep responses.

Other sleep-time edibles that are high in tryptophan are tuna fish, peanut butter, hamburger, chicken, turkey and pork chops.  The latter sound a bit heavy to me, but a small serving eaten before bed may quell hunger pangs; mobilize the sleep-inducing chemicals in your body, all without caloric overdose.

Vigorous aerobic exercise just before bed may rev up your motor and work against you when you try to sleep.  The exception may be isometric exercises, which require muscles to be tensed and relaxed repeatedly.  Your heart rate is usually not gently increased and sleep may come quite quickly afterward.

But the real sleep thief is often your own brain!  At some time before bed, you’ve got to put the brakes on your brain.

Don’t allow yourself to argue with anyone before bed.  Anxiety can cause you to stay awake.  Don’t get into bed and plan to worry about what you do tomorrow.  You’ll lay there and wrestle with it all night.

Don’t begin to brainstorm your pet project.  I speak from experience on this one and it even has a name-creative insomnia.  You get an idea that excites you; adrenaline starts flowing and speeds up your system just like amphetamine.  With your mind racing, you’ll crash headlong into another sleepless nights.

When this happens, do yourself a favor.  Get up.  You can’t force yourself to sleep, and “trying” to sleep is the surest way I know to prevent it. So get up and take advantage of this “bonus” time.

Set the table for breakfast, scrub the floor, or prune the plants.  Turn on soft relaxing music and read or write a letter to someone you care about.  Put that hot idea on paper and out of your head. That in itself may allow you to go back to bed and sleep.

To avoid all of the above, give yourself a time cushion between waking and sleeping. Before bed, occupy yourself with non-stressful things like polishing your shoes or giving yourself a manicure.  Don’t read stimulating books or magazines and don’t watch violence on TV.

Develop a simple, pre-sleep routine that might include bathing or washing your face, brushing your teeth or writing in a journal.  If you choose to take a warm and soothing bath, add perfume to the water and light the room with a candle. Tune the radio to soft, relaxing music, lie back and enjoy.

If you choose to read before bed, read whatever turns you off.  A quiet, dull but satisfying book is ideal.  Some people respond well to handwork such as knitting or rug hooking as a gradual turn-off.  Whatever you choose to do, a repeated routine will automatically signal your body it’s time to sleep.

Having prepared yourself for sleep, pull the covers up and shut your eyes.  Picture yourself asleep in a favorite setting that conjures up feelings of peace and tranquility.  Breathe deeply, then naturally and make a conscious effort to relax from head to toe.  Sleep well.