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Aging And Sleep....How Getting Enough Sleep Can Make You Look Younger
Aging And Sleep - while you've probably heard of the term, "beauty sleep," chances are, you've never heard anyone mention "anti aging sleep." The truth is, that sleep not only makes you feel better, but it also helps you to look younger. Let's take a look at the connection between anti aging and sleep.
When you were a child, you probably remember begging your parents to let you stay up past your bedtime of 8 pm. Chances are, after much negotiation, they gave in and allowed you an extra 30 minutes of time.
However, once you were allowed to stay awake, you probably fell asleep at your usual time. This is because your body was trained to go to sleep at the same time every night.
Once you entered your high school years, you were probably accustomed to staying up well past 11:30, and by college, your body was trained to stay awake until the sun came up if necessary. And now, as an adult, you are probably lucky to get to bed by 1am. While this may seem like the natural progression of sleep patterns, the truth is, your body cannot properly function when it is sleep deprived.
Why We Need Sleep
Anti aging and sleep go hand in hand because while you are sleeping, your body has an opportunity to repair itself. If your body isn't allowed to repair your cells, you will look older than you would if you were getting the proper amount of sleep.
Studies have proven that when people don't allow their bodies enough time to rest, they tend to be moodier, have trouble focusing and are more prone to sickness because the immune system isn't working at its full capacity.
Think about what happens when you are in a bad mood or you can't focus; you start to stress because nothing seems to be going your way. As a result of this stress, you start to feel burdened by your circumstances, and this mental stress usually makes us look older.
By the same token, when you are constantly fighting sickness and disease, you can see the side effects of the battle on your face.
What Can You Do?
Since we know that there is a link between aging and sleep, it's time to make adjustments in your life so you can get more sleep. How much sleep do you need? That really does depend on the individual person, but it is a good idea to aim for at least 7-8 hours.
Once you've been in the habit of not sleeping, it can be a challenge to train your body to get back on a proper sleeping schedule. Starting a bedtime routine can help you have a better night's sleep because it will give your mind time to wind down, and as a result you will be a in bedtime mindset.
Do whatever you need to do to prepare yourself for sleep: take a bubble and put scented candles around the tub, take time to apply your anti aging products, play soothing music, etc.
Another thing that will help you on your anti aging and sleep quest is to avoid confrontational/stressful conversations right before your head hits the pillow.
If you are feeling upset right before you are supposed to go to sleep, chances are, instead of sleeping you will be replaying the conversation over and over in your head.
Unless there is an extreme emergency, set a rule that no "serious business" should be handled after a certain hour at night.
Try to avoid eating right before you go to bed, because your body will be expending energy in the digestion process, and your sleep will not be very restful.
Make it a practice to finish eating by a certain time every night, and you will almost instantly notice the positive results.
If your schedule doesn't allow you to eat dinner early, consider reversing your meals and having your heaviest meal earlier in the day and a light meal a few hours before your bedtime.
It's never too late to catch up on your sleep, so even if you feel that you are already past the point of no return, you aren't.
Start planning out your bedtime routine now and you can get more sleep tonight! Your body will not be used to the change, so be patient and don't give up.
Eventually, you will have reprogrammed your sleep schedule and chances are, you will start looking more rejuvenated after a just a couple of nights.
