During Hollywood’s studio era, glamorous women of a certain age would get their facelifts on the QT in Beverly Hills then hightail it down to Palm Springs to recover on the sly. Four months later they would emerge, like butterflies from chrysalises, looking miraculously ‘well rested.’
It’s no secret that you’re not going to be able to maintain a beautiful complexion (or your overall health, for that matter) without being well rested, and that means getting adequate sleep. Easier said than done, I can attest to this personally. For working women, between overscheduling on the one hand and insomnia on the other, sleep gets sacrificed more often than not. But the tough truth is: Old skin looks tired and tired skin looks old.
Physiologically, the skin has a lot to do during the day including metabolism, fending off UV radiation, protecting the body from pathogens and regulating body temperature. But once asleep, the skin does its most significant repair work including production of collagen and elastin, the skin’s connective tissue responsible for firmness, tone and elasticity. Plus, at night the skin’s protective barrier is more permeable which means it is more receptive to healing, rejuvenating skincare ingredients reaching maximum penetration to do their work.
If you’re like me, you look to vacations to try and make up some of the sleep loss. What a luxury it is to let your body decide when to fall asleep and when to wake up. I love that it only takes a few days the system’s own circadian rhythms to reassert themselves (that’s assuming, of course, you’re not drinking too much or partying too hard which can throw the whole thing off.) This is your body’s own truth, telling you exactly how much sleep you really need. What if you could take this insight and make it work back in your real life?
Is it possible to make the commitment to your skin, your health, your mental acuity, your physical stamina and your emotional well being by making sleep a priority? It’s up to you. Initially, it’s going to take self-discipline. It’s going to mean sticking to a schedule and resisting the siren’s call of getting ‘just one more thing’ done before you hit the hay (a big factor in sleep deprivation.) In the beginning, going to bed at an earlier hour is going to be difficult but stick with it.
To learn more about younger skin treatments, visit WebMD.com.
Let me say this and say it loud: You have a right to your rest. Nothing and no one are being served by you denying yourself this fundamental physical essential. You do not get extra points at the end of it all because you have stumbled through your life only half-awake.
So mull this over and sleep on it. The payoffs are huge and from that perspective, life (and your skin) will look pretty good.