Hitting the weights and eating right are two key concepts to maintaining your health and keeping you looking your best. Did you know there is a third component to looking and feeling good? Many of us don’t realize the major benefits of sleep that help not only our outward appearance but our inward appearance too. Consume that protein, hit the bench press and don’t ignore some much-needed rest tonight.
Don’t cut your sleep short. Yes, we all have busy schedules, but getting those Z’s in tonight help your health in several major ways. Exercising is a key element to feeling and looking suave, but sleep can help your body recover from a vigorous gym session. During a good night’s rest, our bodies recover, letting our blood pressure drop which in turn decreases stress and doesn’t strain our systems like they probably have been all day. Let your body recover from the stress and exercise of the day tonight and you’ll start to see a difference in not only your outward appearance but your mood and energy levels too.
Sleep and Our Outward Appearance
How you sleep can also have some side effects. Do you sleep in the buff? Or are covered in clothing from head to toe? Why not sleep naked? Clothing increases your body temperature and irritates our bodies, causing us to wake and to toss and turn at night. Not only does it awaken us, but staying at a warmer temperature affects sperm production. Sperm
Why not sleep naked? Clothing increases your body temperature and irritates our bodies, causing us to wake and to toss and turn at night. Not only does it awaken us, but staying at a warmer temperature affects sperm production. Sperm is produced at a very particular temperature, and warming up the scrotum means little to no sperm production. Enjoy the cool sheets tonight against your bare skin, and reap the benefits of sleeping in your birthday suit.
Sleep is better than Botox. Skip the facial treatments and get more than 6 hours of sleep every night. According to Dr. Michael Breus, a certified sleep specialist, getting enough rest or increasing your rest helps increase collagen which helps smooth facial lines and wrinkles. Without the proper amount, skin sags because there isn’t enough collagen and the skin begins to dry out. This also contributes to dull skin that doesn’t have that glow or healthy look to it. Your body may be killer but you don’t want your face looking like a prune.
More rest can have other fantastic effects on your outward appearance too. Many of us suffer from a receding hairline or hair loss, but the magic of sleep helps prevent breakage, damage, and loss from the blood flow during the recuperating process while we’re are relaxed and asleep. Did you know that the corners of our lips sag when we’re tired? Having a tired face makes is look unhappy and irritable. Other features that are plagued by tiredness are puffy eyes, ashen skin, and drooping eyelids. Perk up your handsome face tonight and catch some well-deserved rest and give your face a break.
Sleep and What Happens to Our Systems
Sleep can help you look good, but it can also make you feel good. Rest is needed to recover, simple as that. If you cut your rest short, you are damaging your body by refusing to let it recover and protect itself. Rest can actually grow muscles too…ready to hear more?
Hitting the gym and eating healthy are proven ways to gaining more muscle, but sleep can help you in that aspect as well. These two components are key, but without sleep added to your routine your body isn’t going to adapt and recover to any changes in exercise and eating routines. While our bodies rest, protein synthesis begins, producing growth hormones. This happens with the consumption of protein before bedtime, so keep that in mind. While your muscles are being fed while you rest, your body is also repairing muscles, tissues, and producing white blood cells which are vital to our health as they help fight immune disease. Energy levels are lowered too during our rest. This is a nice break for bodybuilders who constantly must consume enough food to stay energized and feed their muscles. Hitting the sack lets your body use less energy as the repairs commence during your sleep.
Your brain needs a break too. Adenosine is a neurotransmitter that tells our minds when it is time to rest. Being active and alert all day can tire our noggins out, especially during activities like weight lifting, driving, performing at work, and others. We can’t always be in a heightened state of alertness and be constantly motivated because it will take its toll. Pushing yourself past the tired effects, especially at the end of the day can result in an accident because our cognitive abilities are suffering. Sleeping lets your brain rest too, and allows you to be more alert and motivated in your activities throughout the day.
Chasing Dreams
Staying amped up all day can make it hard to fall asleep. Exercising in the few hours before you call it quits for the day is a good way to tire yourself out and will promote a better rest. The evening hours before heading to bed should be relaxing as you start to wind down. Drinking alcohol and caffeine have reverse effects and will keep you up all night.
Sleeping positions can also promote a better night’s rest. There are many positions in which to fall asleep but there are a few common positions that director of Sleep Assessment Professor Chris Idzikowski say that are more beneficial to use. These positions depend on your comfortability and individuality in the bed.
- The Freefall– lying on your stomach with your arms wrapped up around your pillow, head to the side. Promotes good digestion.
- The Fetus – lying curled up on one side and is one of the most common sleeping positions. Laying on your right side eases the pressure off of your heart and organs.
- The Soldier – Lying on your back with both arms at your sides. Promotes extreme relaxation and good sleep.
These positions are some of the most common and best ways to fall asleep.
Other things to try are to avoid watching TV or browsing through social media on your phone or tablet. This trains your brain and body not to sleep, but instead to focus on the bright screen and increase alertness. Avoid sleeping pills as well. While these initially help you fall asleep, reliability on them increase with every use and sleeping patterns can be disrupted. They can also have lingering effects and make you drowsy for a good part of the morning. A relaxing environment with dim lighting, a fan, soft music and good pillows are excellent items to help you unwind and chase those dreams.
Scheduling in those precious hours of sleep tonight help you feel good and look good. Not only are your systems restored and repaired but getting at least 8 hours helps your skin look flawless, makes you smarter, more motivated, positive, and healthy. Sleeping is one of the best and most relaxing things you can do in your daily routine that reaps some of the best benefits. Hit the gym, eat those veggies, and catch those Z’s for a better you every day.
