Understanding and Hacking Your Skins Sleep Cycle
It’s no fairy tale, beauty sleep IS a thing!
By Amy Lupton
Whether your Cinderella, a stay-at-home mom, or busy executive/entrepreneur, your skin needs sleep & nutrients. When you head into dreamland, your body and skin go through a refresh/renew cycle that is important for keeping you healthy, all glowy and feeling refreshed!
Maybe you’re not sleeping well and have a less-than skin complexion? There’s a connection.
Maybe you are sleeping ok, but don’t have a nighttime skin routine AND have a less-than skin complexion? There’s a connection.
Sleep and a nighttime beauty routine might not seem like they go together, but they do! And when you get both working effectively, things can really change on the inside and out!
What Happens During Sleep?
WHEN you sleep, your skin goes into a repair and regeneration cycle. This is a good thing and necessary to fix what you have been exposed to during the day. After your skin being on the front lines and under attack all day from pollutants, germs, and your environment, your skin is ready to repair while you sleep.
WHAT we apply to our skin at night is just as important as our sleep.
As we prepare for sleep and begin to wind down, our bodies natural melatonin makes us sleepy and begins to signal our skin to get ready to go to bed. It does this by beginning to pull in moisture from the ambient environment around the skin to ready for its nightly repairs. Cool huh?
This is a key time to make sure your skin is moisturized, clean and ready for repair. It can be simple to amplify this to make sure your skin is balanced, happy and healthy and ready for beauty sleep! So let’s look at a few ways to get your skin in tip top shape and ready for repair in that magic night sleep!
Preparing Your Skin for Sleep & Repair
Clean Skin~ Having clean skin is imperative because you need a clean slate for the skin to do damage control. Many things build up on the face and skin during the day, and need to be rinsed or wiped away. Using a gentle non-toxic wash such as our Cleansing Grains, Ananda Cleanser or Happy Wash are great beginnings.
Vitamin Serum or Toner~ Although this is an optional step, it can be beneficial for aging or trouble skin. Vitamin serums and toners can be important at night, because nutrients such as hyaluronic acid, rosehip, lavender, frankincense, and myrrh can be great for trouble spots or wrinkle areas. You can apply a few drops of essential oil mixed with a carrier oil of choice such as jojoba, or use our Bahava Hydrate Serum which is infused with hyaluronic acid and essential oils.
A heavier than normal moisturizer is important. The skin needs ample water and moisture to repair what was done, so a heavier or thicker moisturizer is important. You might want to argue that your skin is super oily already, and doesn’t need it. I will argue back that oily skin needs more oil to balance out. When the skin produces excess oil, it is overcompensating for what it needs. It can take some time to balance oily skin, but is worth it in the end. Try our new Night Light moisturizer or a moisture barrier so the skin has excess moisture to work with.
Candle down at night~ Your skin works on light cycles just like your eyes and brain signals, so candling down is important for your skin to get the signal its time for bed and repair time. It is also necessary to sleep in darkness.
Stay hydrated~ I am sure you hear this all day, but keep drinking water! The body needs it, the skin needs it.
Some bed time choices such as a silk pillowcase of a high thread count sheet set (The softer and more breathable the bedding, the better. The skin will thank you for it.), a humidifier (can also help during sleep if you live in a dry climate), and sleeping on your back (it can keep the skin looking smooth).
As always, diet plays a key role in the health of your skin. What goes in, usually is detoxed out through the skin. So concentrate on healthy veggies, fruits, and health whole food.
