Sleep affects your skin. As far as your skin is concerned, lack of sleep can cause stress hormone cortisol levels to rise, which encourages inflammation in the skin and lead to a slew of skin issues, like breakouts or conditions like eczema to flare up. Developing a good nighttime routine can help you settle down and improve your sleep, which lets you wake up to better skin. Follow these tips ahead to achieve overnight radiance.
Go Through Your Skincare Routine
Always take your makeup off, being tired from a long day at work isn’t enough of an excuse to let your skin suffer. Take a few minutes and enjoy the process of removing your makeup and washing your face with a gentle cleanser, before prepping with an alcohol-free toner and a nourishing moisturizer. For extra hydration, pat on a facial oil. Throw in an anti-ageing product too (never too early to start!); applying anti-ageing serums and eye creams before bed can help because the products sink into the skin, which allows for more potent results. Do your routine at least 15 minutes before bed to keep your skincare products from rubbing on the bedsheets.
Stay off your devices
The blue light emitted by screens—iPhones, iPads, laptops, TVs—don’t just strain your eyes, they affect your sleep cycle and your skin. Blue light restrains the production of melatonin, which is the hormone that controls your sleep/wake cycle, so reducing melatonin can actually make it harder for you to fall asleep.
Hydrate
It’s important to drink enough fluids throughout the day. Making sure you’re hydrated before bedtime helps you get a good night’s sleep, and contribute to a glowing complexion. Just remember not to drink water half an hour to an hour before bed, so as not to wake up at night for frequent bathroom runs.
Don’t snack before bedtime
Think twice about that bag of potato chips or bowl of instant noodles before you snooze. The extra salt from your favourite snack can lead to excess fluid pooling—especially around the eyes, and that means puffiness in the morning. It can also delay your ability to sleep since your body will be busy digesting. If you’re lying down, the food can’t go through the digestive tract and it may cause an upset stomach in the middle of the night. If you must snack, a few apple slices and peanut butter should do the trick, and make sure it is no later than half an hour before you head to bed.
Credits: Article by Beaubit, Photo by George Milton, Andrea Piacquadio
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