Mirror Mirror On The Wall: What Your Reflection Says About Your Beauty Sleep

POV: You’ve just woken up and you feel like a million dollars – until, that is, you glance in the mirror.

Deep sleep creases on your face, panda eyes, pale blotches - paired with a mountainous knot-fest  forming on top of your head… perhaps not the wake-up call you were after.

Like a loyal best friend, the mirror never lies.

Although often hard to face, these reminders the mirror throws at us are important signals that deep shut-eye not only affects our appetite, energy and concentration levels – but it's directly linked to our skin health, too.

Some rather shocking new stats from the Sleep Foundation reveal that women are 40% more likely to suffer from insomnia than men. With the hormonal roller-coaster that comes with everything from menstruation to menopause – there’s no wonder they’re far more prone to daytime sleepiness.  

If this sounds all too familiar, don’t fret – it's never too late to give your beauty sleep routine a boost. Here are 6 things the mirror might be telling you about your sleep - and how to get on top of them.

 

 “Proper nourishment please!”

Sleep is your brain, body, and skin’s favourite food. And if you don't feed it enough, you deprive them of the goodness they need to thrive. 

During a good night's rest, your brain and body undergo a series of changes that allows recovery to occur – removing dead blood and brain cells, and clearing the pathways for new synapses to take place.

Your brain also gets rid of 60% more toxins when you get the proper amount of sleep. Overall, this gives you that refreshed feeling when you rise, better mental clarity, and your skin that *I-woke-up-like-this* shine.

 

 

“Partial to a spot or two? You might have skin imbalances”

Not only does a lack of sleep negatively affect your body, it also affects the moisture levels in your skin. This imbalance lowers your complexion's pH levels and your skin’s ability to produce the hydration it needs – giving it that flaky, dry look. If that isn’t enough, it also creates unnecessary redness, unevenness and could trigger breakouts. Great.

Thankfully, these side effects are manageable with a solid beauty sleep regimen. Depending on your body’s current state of health, the amount of support and sleep you require might vary drastically from your best friend or mom (which is nothing to be ashamed of!).

To figure out the exact amount you need to function on all cylinders, we suggest hitting the hay 10 minutes earlier each night - continue adding 10 minutes while tracking your progress, until you’re able to sustain solid energy throughout the day. 

 

“Love a drink a few hours before falling asleep? You might miss out on your REM sleep”.

There are four different stages of sleep: stages one and two is the twilight period where you're in between being awake and being asleep. Stages three and four, are when slow-wave and rapid-eye movement (REM) occurs and the healing phase (aka. cell regeneration) kicks in. 

Unfortunately, our favourite night-time alcoholic cap is often referred to as a ‘REM sleep inhibitor’, and for good reason. Having as little as two servings within 90 minutes of your bedtime is likely to prevent your body from functioning optimally functioning the following day — starting the domino effect of a sallow complexion.

 

 

“Your pillowcase is likely affecting your hair and skin”.

If your pillowcases have a low thread count or are rough to the touch, they could be wrecking your complexion. How?

Not-so-soft fabrics don't provide the slip your skin needs to move about freely as you toss and turn overnight, often causing friction and pulling at your skin - contributing to fine lines and acne over time.

"You spend up to a third of your life sleeping, so it's important for your bedroom environment to be a big part of your skincare routine", sleep expert Rebecca S. Robbins, M.D., Ph.D., a researcher at Cornell University, and author of "Sleep for Success!" told Cosmopolitan in 2015. “Which also means, you'll want to invest in quality bedding”.

But before you drop hundreds on an entirely new Egyptian cotton set, there’s an easier way. If you’re looking to maximise your beauty sleep, we highly recommend trying a silk pillowcase. They’re twice as effective, affordable, and you’re sure to find a design to suit your bedroom vibes. Here’s everything you need to know about the magic of silk.

 

“Stomach sleeper? Meet puffy eyes”

If you’ve ever woken up to the dreaded puffiness that makes you look as if you’ve been whacked in the face with a hockey stick – you’ll know what we’re on about.

‘Tummy sleepers’ are prone to having liquid pool into the trough of their under-eyes, causing those unsightly under-eye bags none of us want.

To combat this, slip on a silky sleep eye covering like the BeautySleep Silk Mask – to create the optimal dark environment needed to achieve deep sleep. These beauties are specifically designed to increase our restorative sleep phases, explains Board-Certified dermatologist and assistant clinical professor of dermatology at Mount Sinai School of Medicine Dr. Jeannette Graf. “They help to elevate melatonin levels by blocking any artificial light entering your space, which can disrupt our biological clock within us”, says Dr. Graf.

So, if you’re prone to puffy eyes – our lightweight silky design creating a cooling effect as you sleep, while dodging any unnecessary pressure other masks might apply.

 

 

“The late night scroll ain’t worth it!”

It's tough to deny a good Instagram nosey before you count sheep, but trolling through your glowing device before sleep causes more mayhem to your skin than you might think. 

Dr. Dan Siegel, a clinical professor of psychiatry from the UCLA School of Medicine, told Business Insider just how damaging the effects of interacting with our screens right before bedtime – and it’s enough to want to shut down and dive into a paper-back novel, instead!

Unknown to many, by staring into our screens before nodding off we're soaking up a "stream of photons" - which tell our brains that we want to stay awake. Therefore, preventing our brains from secreting the melatonin needed for sleep to occur - keeping us tossing and turning after lights out. Helpful.

But if there’s no getting around late-night work or study, give the following a try:

• Decrease your daytime (as well as your night-time) electronics – yep, even lengthy daytime use can negatively impact your sleep too.
• Turn your bedroom into a screen-free zone – try to keep your bedroom for Zzzz’s only.
• Keep your bedroom lights dim – intense bedroom lights can supress melatonin production.
• Invest in some ‘blue-blocking glasses’ – relatively inexpensive, these glasses designed specifically to shield your eyes from blue light emissions. Here’s a guide on all you need to know.
• Consider switching out your light-blubs – Light alternatives like General Electric PM Light Bulbs give off a really low amount of blue light, so the light won't keep you up and interrupt your sleep.
• Use ‘night-mode’ on your device, or a similar tool – Lux is a free, downloadable program that warms up your computer display at night, giving off red light waves instead of blue, which is relaxing and will help you fall asleep easier.
• And of course, establish a relaxing beauty sleep routine!

 

 

Your skin is a window into your body.

The truth is, as your largest organ, your skin is the window to what's going on in your body internally. So if you're lacking shut eye and not functioning properly as a result - you're going to notice the aftermath on your face. Dry skin. Dullness. Breakouts. All the super-fun stuff.

The good news is, with a little BeautySleep support, you’ll be well on your way to a glowing complexion in no time.

Curious for more tips? Check out our blog and social community for more beauty sleep-saving support.