If You Want to Be More Attractive & Optimize Your Weight, New Research Says Proper Sleep is Essentia
by www.SixWise.com
Who doesn't love a great night's sleep, the kind where you
wake up with a clear head and the radiant attitude to go with
it? Well it turns out that, beyond providing you the drive
to make the best of your day, a great night's sleep can also
improve your ability to lose weight and keep it off, and help
you look younger, too.
Therefore, if you belong to the 75 percent of Americans who-according
to the National Sleep Foundation's 2005 Sleep in America poll
-- experience symptoms of sleep problems including difficulty
falling asleep, waking during the night, experiencing fatigue
during waking hours, or snoring, take heed of the following
concise advice for how to more effectively head to bed!
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Getting enough sleep keeps your skin from looking dull
and fatigued.
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Sleeping Beauty
There's truth behind the cliché of beauty sleep. "Skimping
on sleep makes your skin look dull and fatigued," says
Deborah S. Sarnoff, M.D., a cosmetic dermatologist and associate
clinical professor at New York University.
That's because sleeping gives your skin (and entire body)
a chance to renew and rebuild. If you don't get enough sleep,
your body won't have time to conduct all its repairs, which
is why when you go through a sleepless night, you wake up
with bags under your eyes, sullen skin and a not-so-bright
attitude.
According to Nicholas V. Perricone, M.D., many people overlook
the importance of a good night's sleep, " ... When
you wake up in the morning after a good night's sleep you
will look and feel radiant, vibrant, energized and youthful.
When you look in the mirror you will notice that lines and
wrinkles appear diminished. You will see decreased puffiness
around the eyes, and your skin will project the luminous glow
that comes with a decrease in age-accelerating, invisible
inflammation," he says.
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Trouble sleeping? Try not to go over the day's events
right before bedtime.
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Want to Lose Weight? Get Some Sleep
Many people have wished that they could lose weight while
they sleep. This wish may not be too far-fetched. According
to studies published in The Journal of the American Medical
Association and The Lancet, not sleeping enough, or even not
sleeping well, affects weight loss in two key ways.
1. Not sleeping makes you hungry. When you sleep, levels
of the stress hormone cortisol are kept in check. But, if
you don't sleep enough, your cortisol levels increase, which
is bad for several reasons.
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It makes you feel hungry, even if you've eaten
enough.
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It raises your blood sugar and insulin levels,
leading to increased fat around your abdomen.
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It can affect your sleep patterns, leading to
problems falling asleep and staying asleep.
- It can adversely affect your endocrine system,
including the thyroid gland that regulates metabolism.
2. Adequate levels of growth hormone aren't released. When
you sleep deeply, growth hormone is secreted, which is vital
for repairing and rebuilding your body tissues. But, it also
helps to combat the negative effects of cortisol. Writes Dr.
Natasha Turner, vice president of natural medicine with Truestar
Health, "Growth hormone naturally decreases with age
and also with increased abdominal fat, leading to a vicious
cycle of fatigue, excess stress hormone and increased abdominal
fat."
How to Get a Great Night's Sleep
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Create a relaxing bedtime routine.
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Keep your bedroom cool, quiet and dark. Sleeping in
complete darkness is necessary to optimize your release
of melatonin, a hormone that encourages healthy sleep
patterns and fights the negative effects of cortisol.
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Once you are in bed, listen to relaxing music or a relaxation
or sleep CD, like the highly recommended Sleep Easy CD,
to help you "shift gears" and relax into sleep.
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Drink a cup of relaxing tea, like chamomile.
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Massage your feet.
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Stretch a bit before you lie down.
Recommended Reading
Why Do We Need
to Sleep? The Latest Fascinating Theories on This Mystery
Phenomenon
Stress Keeping
You Awake? Stressed Because You Can't Sleep?
Sources
Dr.
Perricone's Skin Science Update
WebMD:
Can't Shed Those Pounds?
Beauty
Sleep
The
National Sleep Foundation