There’s nothing sexier than being healthy. When you feel good on the inside, you look good on the outside. Sleep is often an overlooked component of health that many people could use more of. It’s just as important as eating well and exercising regularly.
If you don’t get enough sleep at night, you’re more likely to gain weight or have problems keeping it off. Your skin will age prematurely, and you’ll be at an increased risk of developing diabetes and heart problems. Here’s how getting the rest you need can make you look and feel your best.
Sleep Affects Your Appearance
Have you ever noticed how drained you feel after a poor night’s sleep? Your skin looks dull. Your eyes are red and swollen, and your wrinkles are on display for all to see. That’s because sleep plays a significant role in your facial attractiveness.
According to a study published in the American Academy of Sleep Medicine, sleep deprivation affects your facial features, including your mouth, skin, and eyes. Results of the survey stated that people who were sleep deprived had more hanging eyelids, swollen and red eyes, pale skin, dark circles under their eyes, more fine lines and wrinkles, and the corners of their mouth were droopy (1). The study pointed out that these facial changes caused others to respond to you as if you were overly sleepy, which could cause social consequences.
Must Read: 10 Yoga Poses To Help You Sleep Better
When you don’t sleep well, you don’t feel well. Sleep loss makes you feel worse about your physical appearance. A 2013 study found that poor sleepers were more likely to show signs of skin aging. They also had impaired skin barrier protection and slower recovery times from environmental factors, such as exposure to ultraviolet (UV) radiation. Results of the study concluded that people who did not sleep well had poorer assessments of their facial and skin appearance (2).
Sleep loss also makes it harder for you to lose weight. Research shows that sleep is just as important as diet and exercise when it comes to your weight, health and overall well-being. According to WebMD, your tired brain is a bit like your drunk brain. It doesn’t make good decisions. It also craves things that make you feel good, like comfort food. So when you don’t sleep, you’re more likely to enjoy a second helping of dessert (3).
According to a study published in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, people who are sleep deprived are at an increased risk of snacking late at night. They also tend to pick high-carbohydrates foods. A study conducted at the University of Chicago demonstrated that people who did not sleep well choose snacks that had twice the fat content of the snacks chosen by individuals who got eight hours of sleep (3).
One of sleep’s many roles is to regulate your hormones, such as ghrelin (makes you feel hungry) and leptin (tells you to stop eating). Sleep deprivation causes you to make more ghrelin and less leptin, so you eat more than you should. Your cortisol levels also increase. Cortisol is a stress hormone that tells your body to conserve fuel, which makes it harder for you to lose weight. Research shows that people on a diet who were sleep deprived for two weeks reduced the amount of fat they lost by 55 percent despite cutting their calories. They reported being fatigued, always hungry, and less satisfied after meals (3).
Research from the University of Chicago explained that sleep loss makes you groggy at a cellular level. Even four days of sleep loss causes you to produce 30 percent less insulin, which is needed to convert glucose to energy. When your body is unable to turn fuel into energy, it increases your fat storage. While sleep won’t necessarily cause you to lose weight, lack of sleep prevents weight loss by affecting your metabolism (3).
Here are some other ways sleep affects your sex appeal:
- Blood carries oxygen and nutrients to your skin to give you a healthy glow, but sleep loss decreases blood flow to your skin. When you don’t sleep, you lose your glow. Lack of circulation also causes blood to pool underneath your eyes to give off the appearance of dark circles.
- Your body repairs its skin when you sleep during a process called cell regeneration. It also repairs muscles that were broken down during a tough exercise session. This means if you had a tough workout, your body needs to sleep for your muscles and fitness to see any gains.
- During sleep, your brain cells shrink, and a fluid travels through your glymphatic system to detox your cells. This allows you to retain memories and wake up feeling refresh.
- Studies show that sleep stimulates your immune system to produce more protective proteins and antibodies needed to ward off illness. Lack of sleep makes it harder for you to fight off the common cold.
- Sleep deprivation increases your risk of diabetes (4), heart problems (5), and stroke.
Sexy Sleep Tips
Sleep doesn’t get the props it deserves when it comes to keeping you sexy, but you’d feel (and see) the difference if you didn’t get enough of it. Consider your sleep routine just as important as your meal plans and workouts. Make good sleep a priority by setting a designated bedtime. Most healthy adults need seven to nine hours a night. If you need to be awake at 6 am, try to be in bed by 10 pm at the latest. Or hit the sack by 9:30 pm to give yourself ample time to fall asleep.
Avoid sleeping in on the weekends to keep your internal sleep cycle in sync. You may want to keep your room dark so you can fall asleep faster. Light exposure from any digital electronics will disrupt your melatonin production and keep you awake. Make sure dinner is your lightest meal and take it easy on caffeine throughout the day. Relax before bed by meditating or taking a natural sleep aid to ensure you get the rest you need. Exercising early in the day may also help you fall asleep faster at night.
References:
- https://academic.oup.com/sleep/article-lookup/doi/10.5665/sleep.2964
- https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2013/07/130723155002.htm
- http://www.webmd.com/diet/sleep-and-weight-loss
- https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4394987/
- https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2845795/
A regular sleep is crucial in order to be productive at work too!
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