Does Sleep Make You Look Younger?
If you’ve been noticing that you’re looking a little worn out in the mirror lately, just know it happens to all of us. As we age, our bodies have a harder time reproducing the skin cells that make us look fresh and rejuvenated. But don’t worry! There’s one secret that will help you look younger in just one day! As you can probably guess, sleep does more than just help you to stay healthy and rested. It also helps us look our best, giving us that all-over glow we long for. In one study, participants were photographed after an 8-hour night of sleep vs.
after a period of sleep deprivation. The participants in the sleep-deprived photos were rated as less healthy and less attractive. So there really is something to this thing called ‘beauty sleep’ even if you are wearing a snoring mouth guard!
Benefits of a Good Night’s Sleep
In this article, we’ll go over all the beauty benefits that come from a great night’s sleep, so you can wake up feeling and looking beautiful every day.
Glowing Skin
You drink your recommended 8 glasses of water a day and make sure to moisturize. But all that could be for naught if you don’t give your skin cells time to repair and regenerate, a process which happens during sleep. Both deep and REM sleep have been linked to cell and tissue repair, so getting great shut-eye can with a sleep mask give your skin an extra boost. Collagen is made while you snooze, so getting more sleep can also help fight the appearance of wrinkles. A regular sleep schedule also helps to keep your immune system in shape, which could help you fight any skin rash or irritation as well.
And what about those bags under your eyes? Chances are, if you didn’t get enough sleep the night before, they’re slightly bigger—and maybe darker. Instead of relying on that concealer stick for those dark bags, get some extra sleep to help reduce that swelling, discolored look your eyes get when you’re short on rest.
Beautiful Hair
If your hair is looking a little less luxe and a little more on the dry side, you can add sleep to your list of hair care tasks. Along with giving your hair a break from flat irons and blow dryers every now and then, getting 7 to 9 hours of sleep helps rejuvenate lackluster hair. Be sure not to go to sleep with wet hair as it could disturb your sleep. Sleeping with cold hair can make your scalp lose much-needed heat and cause you to wake through the night, disrupting your sleep pattern. It can also lead to headaches and sinus pain.
Maintain a Healthy Weight
If you’re not hooked on the above beauty benefits alone, you’ll love the fact that sleep has a profound effect on keeping your weight in check! You can count calories and exercise like crazy, but if you try and cut corners on sleep, you may struggle to keep weight off. Getting plentiful amounts of sleep helps keep your appetite in check, allows you to burn calories more effectively, and gives you more energy for physical activity.
It feels good to look in the mirror and feel happy about what you see. Don’t underestimate the importance of sleep.
Getting your full night’s sleep will have you looking and feeling beautiful and healthy.
“Beauty Sleep: Experimental Study on the Perceived Health and Attractiveness of Sleep Deprived People”. US National Library of Medicine, National Institutes of Health. www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/21156746.
“Does Wet Hair in Cold Weather Cause Sinus Headache and Posterior Eye Pain? A Possible Mechanism through Selective Brain Cooling System”. US National Library of Medicine, National Institutes of Health. www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/22975448.