Looking for the fountain of youth?

Get more sleep.

In The Truth About Beauty Sleep, WebMD’s Stephanie Jacob’s reports, “sleep may be the closest thing there is to a fountain of youth. Your body repairs itself and recovers while you snooze, and that leads to a long list of benefits for your looks.”  

A study published in the British Medical Journal, Beauty sleep: experimental study on the perceived health and attractiveness of sleep deprived people showed that well rested individuals were more attractive.

Board certified Sleep specialist, Dr. Michael Breus says that getting less than 6 hours of sleep will likely affect how you look and that getting an extra 1-3 hours can show an improvement in just a few weeks.

Sleep matters for healthier, fuller hair. “Hair loss, breakage, damage, and even growth can all be affected by lack of sleep”, Breus says. “Hair follicles (where hair growth begins) gain nutrients, vitamins, and minerals from blood flow. Since blood flow decreases when we’re short on shut-eye, hair gets less food, it weakens, and it has difficulty growing.”

 A lack of sleep can lead to more stress, which is no good for how we feel and look.

Getting more sleep isn’t easy. Most of us are already over-committed. Our busy schedules limit the time we have to sleep, and it’s hard to switch gears from work to rest.  Social media doesn’t help. Dr. Breus provides some good advice on how to think about getting 7-9 hours of quality sleep:

• Plan your sleep schedule: Go decaf by 2:30pm, Exercise daily-with doctor’s permission, take a bath before sleep, give yourself enough time to sleepily off the alcohol 4 hours before sleep
• Create a tranquil sleep environment: 60-67 degrees is optimal temp for sleep; Could it be time for a new pillow or mattress?

We’ve found that shutting the phone, computer, and TV remote off even 30 minutes before bedtime helps.  Instead, we try fill that time with some reading, stretching, or bath time.  Do you have a favorite sleep routine?

Dr. Breus talks about applying the principles of mindfulness to improving sleep quality.  “You’ve heard me talk about how mindfulness practices can help you sleep better. Commit to paying closer attention to your sleep, on a daily basis. Use the same non-judgmental approach that comes with mindfulness to be more curious and interested in the details of your sleep habits. You’ll learn a lot about your daily rest and about yourself, and you’ll likely discover new ways to tweak and improve your sleep routine, for the benefit of your short and long-term health and happiness.”

See Dr. Bues' full list of tips here.

Did you know ... 1 in 5 people sleep with their eyes open? That’s amazing!

Sweet dreams,

Abigail + David