Reduce Stress for Clearer Skin

iVillage.com: Beauty Sleep: 17 Bedtime Tips

The stress from lack of sleep can also aggravate skin conditions, including acne, eczema and psoriasis. Sleep loss also causes the skin to look pale and tired, due to impaired circulation. To reduce stress, set limits, delegate tasks, stay organized and take care of yourself. Go to a movie, take a walk, practice relaxation techniques before bed, such as deep breathing, guided imagery and progressive muscle relaxation, which help prepare your body and mind for sleep.

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Get Your Beauty ...

It’s not just an idle phrase: Snoozing really does improve your physical appearance. In a 2010 study, researchers at the Karolinska Institute in Stockholm, Sweden, found that sleep-deprived individuals appear less healthy, more tired and less attractive than those who get a full night’s sleep. While that may seem obvious, there are other, less well-known ways that sleep -- not getting enough or not getting the right kind -- affects your appearance. Follow these steps from Michael F. Roizen, MD, chief wellness officer at the Cleveland Clinic and coauthor of "YOU: Being Beautiful," and Michelle Drerup, PsyD, a sleep psychologist and behavioral sleep medicine specialist at the Cleveland Clinic Sleep Disorders Center and creator of the online sleep improvement program GO! to Sleep, to wake up from tonight’s rest a healthier, more beautiful you.

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Aim for 6 to 8 H...

Everyone needs different amounts of sleep, but your goal should be to get six and a half to eight hours of quality sleep each night. That allows time for sleep to stimulate growth hormones, which promote fibroblast health (helping to maintain the structural integrity of connective tissues) and allow more production of collagen and elastin to keep your skin taut and vibrant. According to the authors of the Swedish study, people are programmed to pick up on exhaustion and are less attracted to it, because of the health problems and lower life expectancy associated with long-term sleep deprivation.

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Sleep Face Up

Most of the day, gravity pulls your skin down, contributing to facial sagging and wrinkles, even making your earlobes appear longer, says Dr. Roizen. Nighttime is the chance for your skin to relax and rejuvenate. But if you sleep with your face pressed to the pillow, you’ll just look puffier in the morning (and develop sleep lines). Switch to sleeping on your back to allow gravity to exert a light stretching effect on your skin, giving you a mini face-lift by morning.

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Apply Creams

To further your overnight beauty treatment, use skin creams before bedtime. Topical retinoids, which treat acne, brown spots and wrinkles, are best applied at night, as they are inactivated by light, says Melissa Piliang, MD, a dermatologist at the Cleveland Clinic. For women with dry skin, a heavier, noncomedogenic (doesn't block pores) moisturing cream -- something that may not look very elegant during the day -- can be used, says Dr. Piliang.

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Protect Against ...

Allergies to dust mites or dust mite waste is common as are allergies to feather pillows and laundry detergent. If you wake up with puffy eyelids, it’s time to do some allergy testing, suggests Dr. Roizen. If dust mites are to blame, your best bet is to cover your pillow with a MicronOne case that feels like a pillowcase or a latex cover that feels a bit like plastic. Both work to decrease dust mite allergies and the subsequent puffiness. If you think it may be your pillow or detergent, switch pillows or detergents to determine the cause and fix the puffiness problem.

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Nix Nicotine

It’s always easy to spot the smoker. Anyone who’s been smoking long enough has those telling vertical lines above the lips from years of puckering around cigarettes. Smokers are also cheating their bodies of beauty rest, since smoking cigarettes and sleep don’t mix. Nicotine arouses the central nervous system, making it harder to fall asleep -- and stay asleep, explains Dr. Drerup. And recent research found that cigarette smokers were four times as likely as nonsmokers to report feeling unrested after a night’s sleep. In addition, smokers spend less time in deep sleep and more time in light sleep than nonsmokers do. For heavy smokers, it’s even more of a problem. They may have middle-of-the-night awakenings caused by nicotine withdrawal.

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Close Your Mouth...

Brushing and flossing your teeth are important to keep your mouth healthy and attractive. But there’s one nighttime habit that can seriously ruin your mouth’s good looks: sleeping with your mouth open. Whether you sleep open-mouthed out of habit or because you have a clogged nose, it’s time to change your ways -- or take a decongestant! The air your mouth is exposed to dries the gums and enamel, causing gingivitis and possible bone decay -- not a pretty picture!

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Sleep More, Eat ...

People who don’t get enough sleep often overeat. Lack of sleep leads to an increase in appetite, sometimes a dramatic one. What’s worse, in a study at the University of Chicago, participants who were experiencing sleep deprivation craved more calorie-dense, carbohydrate-rich foods, such as cake, ice cream, pasta and bread. Another study on the effects of diet and sleep found that drowsy dieters produced higher levels of ghrelin, a hormone that triggers hunger and slows down the body’s fat-burning mechanism. So not only are you famished and eating more when you’re sleep-deprived, you’re also burning less fat. If you’re overweight or obese, you need to lose weight for your health, not just to change your looks. Ultimately, Dr. Roizen says, the idea is to be in shape for you -- for your health, your mind and for you to feel beautiful.

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Put Pain to Rest...

When you don’t get enough sleep or enough quality sleep, you tend to have more pain, since lack of sleep prevents the neurotransmitters that normally suppress pain from fully refreshing. And that extra pain drains your energy -- so you feel wiped out near the start of the day. With pain and exhaustion at play, it’s nearly impossible to feel beautiful. Consult your doctor to treat the source of pain and explore relaxation techniques, such as deep breathing, meditation or gentle yoga to reduce your pain.

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Reboot With a Na...

When you’re tired, your energy level drops, which doesn’t look good on anyone. As long as you’re not experiencing insomnia at night, go ahead and take a daytime snooze, recommends Dr. Roizen. Just make sure to keep it under 30 minutes. Any longer than that and you’ll slip into a stage of deeper sleep so close to the dreamy REM phase that when you wake up you’ll feel hungover and drowsy. At less than 30 minutes, a nap can be invigorating. Naps enable your brain and body to reenergize.

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Hold Onto Your H...

When you don’t get enough sleep, your body is stressed. And when your body is stressed, even your hair feels it. Suddenly your locks don’t seem as thick or grow as quickly; your hair may lose its shine and bounce. Even worse, it could fall out! The stress from lack of sleep can cause hair loss, according to senior trichologist (someone who deals with the scientific study of hair and scalp) Leonora Doclis of the Belgravia Centre in London. Those who are already susceptible to hair loss due to genetics face the most risk.

You can help your hair by sleeping on a silk or satin pillowcase. The smooth surface creates less friction, which helps prevent breakage overnight and may even keep your hairstyle smooth. Put it over a MicronOne pillow cover. No more morning bed-head!

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Reduce Stress fo...

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Dr. Drerup’s Top...

1. Go to bed and wake up at the same time every day. Being consistent strengthens your body’s sleep-wake cycle and leads to better sleep at night.
2. Watch what you eat and drink. Avoid big, heavy meals as well as spicy or acidic foods, and limit alcohol and caffeine within a few hours of bedtime.
3. Create a bedtime routine. Wind down before bed with a ritual. Limit electronics use: Some studies suggest that screen time or other electronic media before bedtime can interfere with sleep.
4. Get physical. Being physically active (at least three hours before bedtime) every day can promote better sleep. Research suggests that morning is the ideal time to exercise for improvement in sleep quality.
5. Know when it’s time to get help. If you’re still struggling with sleep problems, you may have a sleep disorder that requires treatment with a specialist.

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