How To Get A Good Night's Sleep

It's not just a matter of getting enough hours, it's what you do with them that counts. Give your beauty routine a wake-up call and you're guaranteed to look better by morning. It all starts with a good night's rest.

Tub Therapy - You need more than seven hours sleep or stress hormones rise. This causes skin dehydration, pastiness and puffiness. Have a bath before bed, the heat not only reduces muscle tension but as the body cools afterwards it makes your heart beat more slowly resulting in feeling sleepy.

Lower The Thermostat - At night your brain sends signals to reduce your body temperature in preparation for sleep. If you can't lower your body temperature you sleep is disturbed. A cool 18 degrees C works best. Set your heating low and avoid spicy or sugary foods which raise your body temperature.

Humidity - Make sure the air in your bedroom is not too hot or cold as neither hold waster well. This means your skins is more likely to dehydrate and dehydrated skin creases more. If the air is too dry, consider getting a humidifier.

Avoid Too Much Alcohol - If possible, reduce your intake all-together. Sleep will be interrupted and you'll become restless as your blood alcohol and sugar levels drop which results in morning grogginess.

Skin Starbucks - It takes six to eight hours for caffeine to leave the system and up to ten hours if you're on a pill. Ban caffeine after 4pm and remember that a cup of tea or 50g of dark chocolate both contain nearly as much caffeine as an esperesso.

Soporific Scents - Camomile and lavender are the most commonly known relaxing essential oils but basil, mandarin, neroli, rose, sandalwood and ylang-ylang are also fantasic. Add a few drops to an oil burner by your bed to help you get a good night's sleep.

Avoid Skin Irritation - The key beauty impact of a good night's sleep is repair. The skin must be void of make-up and residue btu by using harsh cleansers your skin uses all its energy in combating inflammation rather than repairing damage. So be gentle when you apply any face cream before you sleep. A good idea is to spray water on your face before applying night cream.

Start Going To Bed Early - Another reason to get to bed early is that applying skincare in the early hours reduces its effectiveness. It's important to apply products before 1am to allow the active ingredients time to penetrate properly.