Sleeping beautifully for beauty

"Sleep is the golden chain that ties health and our bodies together" - Thomas Dekker

An hours worth of sleep before midnight is worth two after.... an old wives tale maybe but take that thought back in time to when there were no electric lights , when human beings were not trying to be nocturnal and working on their computers til the small hours 

When the light faded we went to sleep and the rising sun would awaken us, refreshed and ready to start a new day. Modern living has meant we have interfered with the natural balance of the human body.  The human growth hormones only function when we are asleep, that's why babies grow when sleeping and adult bodies use this time for cell repair.  As you get older and collagen levels decrease, sleep is even more important to help regenerate your skin and keep it looking beautiful and your body healthy.  But surely, as long as you get enough hours, it shouldn't matter when you sleep? 

If you are up late and sleeping through the best part of the day, you are then missing out on essential vitamin D which comes from natural exposure to sunlight.  Vitamin D is essential to help prevent osteoporosis, depression and hormonal cancers and sunlight is the only reliable way to get it.  So if you stay up late, getting up with just enough time to get ready for work and working in an office all day, you could be depriving your body of essential growth hormones and protective vitamin D.

Sleeping on silk

A natural way to give your skin a good beauty sleep is to sleep on a silk pillowcase. In 1987 Dr. Samual J Stegman a dermatological surgeon published his findings on sleep wrinkles. His hallmark work proved that sleeping on a cotton pillowcase increased wrinkles to the face. When you are young these wrinkles naturally bounce back but as you get older they tend to stay.  Cotton is highly absorbent and will pull all the moisture from your hair and skin while you sleep, while trying to fight the battle of wrinkles we are actually provoking them.  Dr Stegman proved that the pressure from sleeping on cotton damaged the muscles and skin because of the dragging effect, rather than letting them glide as you move in your sleep. 100% natural silk will not absorb all the moisture from your body and your skin will glide instead.  As silk is a natural heat regulator it is also suggested that women who have night sweats will sleep more peacefully in silk and with its natural proteins and amino acids can benefit your skin.

If you want to wake up beautiful and refreshed:

• Get to sleep early so your body has time to regenerate your cells and make repairs

• Wake early and get some natural sunlight outside before you have to rush to work or take a walk outside in your lunch hour, the more natural sunlight you get, the better.

• Sleep on a silk pillowcase to avoid skin damage your hair will be softer and your skin will be fresher

• Try to sleep on your back with your head elevated a little to avoid puffy eyes in the morning.

• Use a natural night serum or cream made from Rose hip seed oil or Borage as this is when it is most beneficial

 Sleep beautifully....