"During sleep, our body takes the time to replenish skin in many ways - collagen production increases, hydration levels are re-balanced, blood-flow to the upper dermis is boosted with the result that the ageing process is slowed down"
Are you a nocturnal animal or a snoozin' beauty? Here at Glow, we have noticed, for instance, that we all look so much better after a good night's sleep as opposed to the Panda-eye look that we sport when we've been out way past bedtime! And so we asked the question how important is sleep? Other than bestowing a fresh, dewy morning look, does it have beneficial effects on other areas of our health? Needless to say, we discovered that it is extremely important and impacts on 5 key areas of our lives :
Brain Function: yes we've heard it all before but it really is true! A good night's sleep is key to mental health as that is when the brain forms pathways which enable us to learn and store memories and information in addition to enhancing our problem-solving and decision-making skills.
Emotional Health: Healthy brain function is linked to the second good reason we should all be getting our beauty sleep and that is our emotional well-being. Studies show that sleep deficiency alters activity patterns in some parts of the brain which are linked with depression, mood swings, risk-taking behaviour and even suicide.
Physical Health: our bodies take advantage of sleeping time to heal and repair our heart and blood vessels and again studies indicate that continuous lack of sleep can have an impact on the likelihood of getting heart disease, kidney disease, high blood pressure, diabetes or stroke.
Hormonal Health: sleep plays a huge part in our hormonal well-being as it ensures that a healthy balance is maintained between the key hormones Leptin (which makes you feel full) and Ghrelin (which makes you feel hungry). When you're sleep-deficient, your levels of Ghrelin go up while Leptin decreases - absolutely not good for the waistline! Lack of sleep also affects your levels of Insulin (the hormone that controls blood glucose level). A sleep-deficient body will have higher than normal blood sugar levels which can, in turn, increase your risk for diabetes.
Skin Health: last but not least the one we love to talk about here at Glow! If you really want to turn back time, don't skimp on your Zzzzz's. During sleep, our body takes the time to replenish skin in many ways - collagen production increases, hydration levels are re-balanced, blood-flow to the upper dermis is boosted with the result that the ageing process is slowed down and your dewy, supple, translucent skin will be the envy of all your friends! And if all that were not enough reason to jump into bed a couple of hours earlier than usual, consider this: lack of sleep can cause weight gain because when you are sleep-deprived, levels of the stress hormone Cortisol increase which makes you feel hungry.
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