Youth owes its magnificent beauty to hormones, collagen and sleep. You’ve heard it a million of times, “sleep is beauty’s best friend”, yes, because while we snooze, our body liberates hormones and our skin regenerates collagen. Collagen is the protein that keeps our skin looking and feeling younger. The more collagen stored in our cells, less wrinkles, dark circles, puffy eyes and spots will appear.

It’s scientifically proven that sleepless nights reduce the production of said protein and the skin looks wrinkled, haggard, dehydrated and swollen. Getting a good night of sleep is easier said than done, especially when your insomnia is triggered by stress, indigestion or a snoring partner. Some things are disturbing your sleep such as: Too many trips to the bathroom, acid reflux, inaccurate room temperature (too warm or freezing) and you’re sleeping next to what sounds like a breathing trombone. I mean, the list goes on, but thankfully there are solutions.

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Also: 5 Tricks to live a skinny life

Create the Perfect Ambience

If you’re a light sleeper (like me) this step is crucial. You know any tiny disturbance will wake you, leaving you running that never ending to-do list in your mind. So, make your bedroom work for you. For instance, set the right temperature by either opening or closing a window, choose a cold or hot mist humidifier, get thicker or thinner blankets and buy a night table fan. Yes, a fan not only will cool you off, but also works great as a white noise provider to tune out your beloved snorer.

Bring Out the Props

Turn off all your electronics and their bad-for-you-annoying led lights. They shine brighter in the dark and are extremely distracting for light sleepers. Honestly, I sleep better when I wear an eye mask. Be careful when choosing one, because the wrong one could give you tension headaches, eye trauma and of course wrinkles. Make sure the fabric is soft, preferably silk, because it’s delicate on your skin. Also, examine the elastic band carefully, it should be wide and adjustable so sits nicely around your head without wrinkling your skin or falling off. For me, the Iluminage Rejuvenating Eye Mask is perfect, blocks the light completely and its copper infused fabric applies their anti-aging technology to smooth out wrinkles. Hello beauty sleep!

Pay Attention to Dinner

First off, don’t eat too late. Each metabolism is different, but we all need at least a full hour to digest food properly before going to bed. If you drank alcohol, you’ll need more time. Why? Alcohol is a diuretic, which triggers frequent urination. Make sure you empty your bladder completely before jumping in bed to avoid frequent toilet trips. Also, wine and alcoholic-mixed-drinks contain too much acid, which will impact and slow down your digestion. To ease acid reflux, you should sleep with your head slightly raised.

Tame the Snorer

This is hard because snoring is more complicated than you think. It’s a sleep disorder caused by a serious condition called sleep apnea. Apnea results from weight gain, respiratory issues, medication side effects, and illnesses. Quick fixes for the snorer’s companion, aside from a fan or any other white noise device, are ear muffs. They work well if you don’t move too much in bed. Another tip is going to bed and falling asleep before your noisy partner does. Just make sure he/she knows the agreement beforehand. Going to bed at the same time might not work for the light sleeper unless you’re beyond exhausted.

It’s difficult to stop aging, but we can certainly delay it if we improve the quality of our sleep. Zzzs… are essential to heal our body and keep everything running smoothly. The fact that they keep us younger is such a nice bonus!

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