Beauty sleep or sleeping beauty is vital for us. It refers to how the skin and body heal themselves from the day. In this post, we’ll discuss beauty sleep in detail and how yoga can improve the quality of your shut-eye.
The New York Post article says that an average American woman spends more than $50.000 on cosmetics during her lifetime. However, a third of that money is spent trying to reduce the impacts of poor sleep. We’re happy to share that studies suggest beauty sleep can significantly improve physical attractiveness without costing you tons of money. Moreover, the benefits of catching up on your zzz’s go far beyond the epidermis.
But what is the key to getting that quality beauty sleep? Our answer is – yoga! If you’ve already watched the yoga for beginners DVD, you know that this activity boosts physical and mental wellbeing. But also yoga is great for relaxation and sleep.
Below, we’ll discuss beauty sleep, its numerous benefits, and how yoga works to help your sleeping patterns. Scroll down!
What Is Beauty Sleep?
According to the National Sleep Foundation, quality beauty sleep for adults is a deep, uninterrupted night sleep that lasts 7-9 hours, this way, you get the ideal ratio between long-wave and REM periods. If you get six hours of night zzz’s or even less, you’ll likely notice negative effects on more than just your mood. You can use a sleep calculator to make sure you get the right amount of shut-eye.
Read More: How Yoga Can Be An Advantage for Mom and Baby
How Does Insufficient Sleep Influence The Appearance?
Sleep deprivation has become a worldwide issue. Lack of good zzz’s impacts mental health (mood swings, forgetfulness), weakens the immune system, and increases the risk for heart disease, high blood pressure, diabetes, and stroke. And, of course, it affects our appearance! If you’ve ever woken up from a bad night’s sleep, you must have noticed that your skin looks blotchy or pale. The skin uses sleep to repair itself, and if we don’t get enough shut-eye, we’ll see negative effects. Here are just some of them:
➢ Bad skin condition – poor night’s sleep causes stress. It, in turn, impairs collagen quality and leads to dull, uneven skin tone and more breakouts.
➢ Skin aging – insufficient sleep accelerates intrinsic aging. It includes reduced elasticity of the skin, fine lines, and uneven pigmentation. Lack of zzz hinders skin recovery from sun exposure, which results in more wrinkles.
➢ Decreased attractiveness and health – here is what the study has shown: participants, who were asked to rate photos of people, showed no desire to socialize with those who looked sleep-deprived or tired as they seemed less healthy and attractive.
➢ Poorer self-esteem – those who suffer from the lack of sleep on a regular basis are usually more dissatisfied with their appearance than those who catch up enough zzz’s. When you wake up after an uninterrupted 8-hour rest, you obviously feel better about yourself than someone who sleeps for less than 6 hours.
Why Is Yoga Good For Sleep?
Yoga is a restorative and gentle way to wind down your day. Thanks to the ideal combination of physical exertion and relaxing meditation, yoga improves the quality and duration of your zzz’s and helps you fall asleep faster.
A national survey showed that more than 55% of people who performed yoga reported that it helped them get better shut-eye. Over 85% found that consistent practice reduced stress.
Benefits Of Yoga Before Sleep
➢ Yoga alleviates insomnia – consistent practice can manage the symptoms of insomnia and promote better sleep. You’ll be able to fall asleep faster, rest for longer, and easily get back to zzz’s after waking up at night.
➢ Yoga enhances sleep quality and overall quality of life – adults who experience problems with sleep are often prescribed beauty sleep vitamins or medicines to improve their sleep patterns. Yoga is a perfect natural alternative to pharmaceutical aids.
➢ Yoga helps with weight loss – performing yoga before sleep provides a positive impact on weight loss and weight maintenance. You might even become more attentive to your eating habits.
➢ Yoga promotes relaxation – practicing yoga puts the body in a calm state. It helps you enter a lower state of arousal, which, in turn, lowers blood pressure and levels of the stress hormone cortisol. A bedtime yoga routine can also ease stress-related issues like insomnia, anxiety, and weight gain.
➢ Yoga revitalizes the body – the breathing practices help enhances the oxygen levels in the blood and reduce toxins. It contributes to rejuvenating the body.
Yoga features numerous benefits! It not only helps improve sleeping patterns but also boosts mental focus, reduces stress, improves strength, flexibility, and breathing.
Yoga Poses For Sleep
Reclined Butterfly Pose (Supta Baddha Konasana)
This pose is calming and restorative. It relaxes the nervous system and reduces stress. Besides, it stimulates the kidney and urinary bladder meridians and increases mobility in the hips. For extra support, put sleep yoga pillows under your knees.
➢ Sit down. From this position, squeeze your feet together.
➢ Spread your knees to the sides.
➢ Rest on your back.
➢ Put your hands down in a comfortable position.
➢ Hold this pose for 3-5 minutes.
Legs-Up-the-Wall Pose (Viparita Karani in Sanskrit)
This pose is popular among people wishing to relax. You can place a beauty sleep pillow, cushion, or bolster under your hip for extra support. To modify this pose, open your legs wide or place the feet together.
➢ Sit with the right side against a wall.
➢ Raise your legs to the wall while lying on your back with your hips against or close to the wall.
➢ Place your arms in a comfortable position.
➢ Watch your breathing and focus on relieving tension in the body.
➢ Hold this pose for 3-5 minutes.
Child’s Pose (Balasana)
This pose is perfect for those who want a resting, gentle stretch; it improves flexibility while stretching the spine, hips, thighs, and ankles. This posture can help relieve back pain. Place a cushion under your forehead or thighs for extra support.
➢ From a tabletop posture, lower your hips to your heels.
➢ Spread your knees wide or close them together.
➢ Relax the chest and let it sink into the thighs.
➢ Relax tension in the spine.
➢ Hold this pose for 3-5 minutes.
Read More: How Bad Coughing Can Spoil Your Sleeping in Night?
Corpse Pose (Savasana)
Corpse pose is a resting pose, and no yoga session is complete without this final relaxation posture. It allows your body and mind time to process what has happened during the day. Practice Savasana at home before sleeping as a great way to quiet your mind and get more restful sleep.
➢ Lie back on your mat or in your bed.
➢ Place your feet slightly wider than the distance between your thighs.
➢ Place your arms along your body, but a bit separated from your torso. Align your head, neck, and spine.
➢ Concentrate on your breath as you completely relax tension in the body.
➢ Let your body feel heavy.
➢ Hold this pose for 15 minutes.
Extra Tips To Get The Beauty Sleep
Here are some bonus tips to get beautiful skin and body:
Invest In A Quality Beauty Sleep Mattress
A low-quality mattress creates pressure points on your back, which may result in pain and poor sleep quality. Luckily, today’s market is offering a variety of mattresses. You can choose the right one for yourself.
More and more people prefer memory foam. It helps to achieve restful sleep that promotes healthy skin. Such a mattress will be an excellent investment!
Keep Hygiene Before Sleep
Do maintain basic hygiene practices before sleep! It not only cleans bacteria and pore-clogging dirt from your face and body, which is especially important at night but also relieves stress and relaxes your body. Besides, if you don’t wash off bacteria and dirt from your skin, you’ll increase the risk for breakouts, not to mention transfer all that gunk to your linen. So, even if you take a shower and wash your face the next day, the problem will remain.
Wear a Sleep Mask
Avoid light when you sleep, it’s vital for getting quality shut-eye. A sleep mask eliminates vulnerability to light, this way, you can get uninterrupted, quality rest. It’s recommended to use a silk eye mask while sleeping. In any case, make sure the material that presses against your face is as soft and smooth as possible since the skin is susceptible to wrinkling. For even more benefits, use a silk pillowcase and bedding. Such linen will reduce puffiness and redness for beautiful skin after a night’s sleep.
Listen To The Sleep Music
Sleep music offers a good way to enhance your sleep hygiene and improve your ability to fall asleep more quickly, have less waking up during the night, and feel well-rested after a night’s shut-eye. Why is sleep music so efficient? Relaxing music impacts the regulation of hormones, including the stress hormone cortisol; it soothes the autonomic nervous system, distracts from troubling or anxious thoughts, and encourages the physical and mental relaxation needed to fall asleep. When choosing the right music for sleep, focus on calming genres like piano pieces. You can also go for online services that offer pre-packaged playlists for specific activities.
If you struggle with sleep anxiety or insomnia, don’t worry! Just try to incorporate yoga and other recommendations mentioned above, soon you’ll see positive results and catch up on your beauty sleep.
Author’s Bio:
Hey everyone, it’s Coach Alisa Weaver 🙂
Teaching and coaching is my passion and career choice. I find great satisfaction to see others achieve their goals, whether it is recovery from injury or surgery, strengthening the body for competition, or just becoming fit.
I think that anyone can improve their fitness level no matter what their physical condition may be. By pushing yourself, discipline, not giving up together we can make your goals happen.
