Holistic Beauty from the Inside Out (10 page)

The reason behind the weight gain could be in female hormones. After a few days of sleep restriction, the hormones that control appetite cause people to become hungrier, so we may
hypothesize that women who sleep less might eat more. “But in fact they ate less,” Dr. Patel says. “That suggests that appetite and diet are not accounting for the weight gain in women who sleep less.” The research did not find any differences in physical activity that could explain why women who slept less weighed more either.

At the moment, the verdict is that sleeping less affects a person’s basal metabolic rate, or the number of calories you burn when you rest. Another contributor to weight regulation that has recently been discovered is called non-exercise associated thermogenesis, or NEAT, which refers to involuntary activity, such as fidgeting or standing instead of sitting. It may be that if you sleep less, you move around less too, and therefore burn up fewer calories. Whatever the reason is, those who sleep more have an easier time keeping off unwanted pounds.

HERBAL HELP FOR BEAUTY SLEEP

For most of us, a bowl of oatmeal will prove just as effective as a sleeping pill from the pharmacy, and a magnesium supplement will not only help relax those tense inner muscles you were not aware of, but will help you unwind and relax better than a full body massage.

When you feel you cannot sleep on your own, here are some natural and herbal remedies that may put you in a healthy, glow giving, restful slumber:

Oats
: Full of vitamin B and calming constituents, oats gently reduces physical and emotional pressure, while nourishing the nervous system. Avena sativa’s extract works slowly and it can be taken long-term, ideal for situations where the stress is ongoing. The easiest way to reap on oats’ stress reducing action is to eat a bowl of porridge topped up with honey every evening at bedtime. This combo will knock you out in no time!

Valerian
: Valerian contains a relaxing substance known as valerinic acid. For this reason, it has traditionally been used to
reduce sleeplessness, tension, and muscle spasms. Valerian also has a sedating effect on mind and body and is often combined with hops (see below). If you decide to take valerian for your stress, please keep in mind that it can take up to two weeks to show any visible results, but once you see them, you will not know how you coped without valerian, as its action is so mild yet so natural and holistic. I attribute my first breakthrough from acne to valerian, as I believe it helped soothing my stress-induced blemishes. Stress-related eczema can also be diminished with regular intake of valerian extract, along with natural skincare and stress-reducing exercises such as pilates and yoga.

Hops:
Well known as an important ingredient for beer, hops, a type of flower from an herbaceous perennial plant, has a long history of another traditional use. It is a climbing plant, containing substances known as hurnulones and lupulones, which have calming effects on the body’s nervous system.

Sage:
It is not only worry and stress that can disturb sleep. Menopausal night sweats can also cause sleepless nights for women and this restlessness can affect the sleep of their partners too. Sage has been used traditionally for excessive sweating and hot flushes during the menopause.

Naturally boosting melatonin levels helps improve sleep without the need of sleeping pills. Melatonin contains in many plants including feverfew (
Tanacetum parthenium
), and St. John’s Wort (
Hypericum perforatum
). These herbs are available as supplements and herbal teas. Try them for at least a month to see any difference they make on your sleeping habits. Calcium, magnesium, vitamin B6, and niacinamide help improve the quality of sleep, which in turn allows the brain to release more melatonin.

Here is a time-tested natural sleep aid that helps soothe the mind and promote a restful sleep.

LAVENDER & MILK FOOT BATH

Lavender is a well-known nerve soother. Added benefit: your tired feet will feel silky and smooth after this bath. You can also place a tissue with a few drops of lavender on your pillow to help you sleep.

Ingredients

5 drops lavender essential oil
½ cup milk

Method

Add the lavender oil to the milk and pour it in the warm water in a basin. Soak your feet five to ten minutes.

START SLEEPING BETTER TODAY

Frightened by how behind you are on restful sleep? The only solution is to try to catch up on your sleep on a consistent basis. It sounds boring, but it works.

You will know it when you have slept off the sleep debt you have accumulated over years of chronic sleep deprivation. Your skin will regain its glow and tone, and your eyes will be less puffy and the under-eye area will be less dark and wrinkled.

If you “force” yourself to sleep at least seven hours every night for just seven days, miracles will start to happen. You will suddenly notice that your clothes are less pinching in the waist area. Maybe that stubborn “spare tire” around your midriff will become less stubborn. Your cheeks may be less puffy, your skin less droopy, your hair less limp. And there are lots of “mores” in the good sleep story. For starters, your skin will become firmer. Your hair will have more gloss. You will feel more energy throughout the day without gulping mugs of coffee or caffeinated sugar-laden
soft drinks. You will suddenly realize that life is more than television and online socializing.

Some of the “sleep-better” recipes are not suitable for extreme life situations such as having a new baby. My personal recipe for breaking that sleepless rut when I was dealing with a teeny-weeny poor sleeper was to take her outside, rain or snow, night or day, midnight, or early morning. We just stepped outside, wrapped in comfy warm clothes if necessary, and wandered around the garden or along nearby quiet streets. Ten minutes later, both of us would be dozing off on the move. Twenty minutes later, we would be fast asleep in our beds. Do as you wish, as long as it helps you unwind and becomes sleepy. Meditate, soak your jagged nerves in a fragrant bath, read a funny book—just don’t jump on the trampoline or hit the treadmill, and keep away from the TV, tablet, or a computer.

I am living proof of the benefits of reducing your sleep debt. Back home in the civilized world, I used to work six hours a day at the office, and five hours in the late evening after putting my daughter to bed, surviving on five hours of sleep (interrupted once or twice) per night. I would drag myself out of bed every morning, and gulp mugs of strong coffee in order to stay alert on a frozen mountain road during a morning school run. Yet, every year when we joined my mother’s holiday retreat on the Black Sea, I would catch on my sleep, and it always worked wonders. Right after enjoying three or four nights of a blissfully undisturbed eight hours of sleep, I would brim with new ideas for my skincare and books, and physically I would feel at the top of the world. I would marathon swim; I would hike in the wilderness; I would play competition-level tennis for several hours. Even though my days were shorter by two or three hours, I was living my life a whole lot better than I would if I were skimming it with my eyes half open and my brain half numb.

Sleep is designed to restore us. During the night, tissues are repaired; organs rest or work hard flushing out toxins. Our mind
also uses the sleep to filter everything that has happened that day, eradicating the useless, saving the beneficial for us to use later on. “Sleeping on it” is a great technique—for me, it’s imperative to postpone an important decision until the “morning after,” for many wonderful ideas spring to mind if you give it a chance to take a break from your daily burdens. To give your mind a muchneeded rest, you actually need to sleep—staring at the ceiling all night just doesn’t have the same effect.

Chapter Three Quick Tips

1. When sleep is disturbed we can find our brains struggling to cope, our memory slipping, increased feelings of anxiety, poor concentration, muscle fatigue, dull skin, and blood-shot eyes.
   Aim for seven to hours of sleep every night
   .
   
2. To start reaping the benefits of a beauty sleep,
   reestablish your internal clock by sticking to a regular bedtime schedule
   . Even if your schedule varies, set a regular bedtime and wake up time. Try to maintain this even on the weekends. The ideal time to go to bed is before midnight. An hour of sleep before midnight will do your health more good than three hours of fogged sleep after midnight.
   
3. If you drink coffee, teas, or other caffeinated beverages, try cutting back
   , or at least not having any during the afternoon or later.
   
4. Avoid alcohol
   . Although it may make you drowsy, it also makes you waken more easily later on, maybe to fret about something that may never happen, or just to roam through your regular nighttime fears. If you often wake up at night, try drinking more fluids in the morning and afternoon, and limiting your fluids from dinnertime onward.
   
5. Regular exercise
   can promote good night’s sleep. Late afternoon activity seems to be best, but avoid exercising within three hours of bedtime.
   
6. Mattresses and pillows do not last forever. Check yours to
   make sure they are giving you the support you need
   .
   
7. Calcium and magnesium supplements at bedtime promote healthy sleep
   and recharge your body’s energy supply.
   
8. Cherries are rich in natural “nightcap” hormone melatonin,
   which acts as a powerful antioxidant, cancer protector, and skin rejuvenator.
   
9. Create a sleep routine that you stick to every night
   , to indicate to your brain that it is time to sleep. This provides an excellent change to incorporate some of the lifestyle and beauty tips throughout this book. For instance, an hour before you want to be snoozing, wash your face and give yourself a soothing massage with an essential oil. Then, meditate for fifteen minutes before sitting down to read or do something else you enjoy that is calming, such as knitting. Then get into bed and doze!
   
10. Keep your bed, or, ideally, your entire bedroom, for sleep only
    . Do not keep your computer in your bedroom. Do not pile your bedside table with assignments from work. Do not watch TV before trying to go to sleep. Make your bed a safe haven, where the stresses of life are not allowed to enter, and peace and quiet prevail.
    
11. Don’t eat late dinners or late-night snacks. Ideally,
    finish eating three hours before bedtime
    .