The Beauty Diet (40 page)

Heat relaxes muscles—and taking a long bath can be soothing to the mind as well. Stock up on your favorite bath salts and soaps, get a bath pillow, and decorate the room with candles. You can even create an in-home spa by incorporating treatments like facials into your routine.

Even when you have a day off, it's hard to relax if you're surrounded by all the usual stressors—piles of bills, home repair jobs that need to be done, shopping to do, and all the other obligations of daily life that make your "to do" list go on for two pages. To escape your day-to-day worries, you need to escape your surroundings! For most people, a vacation to a warm climate, preferably on a sandy beach, is ideal. On the other hand, you may have always wanted to go to Alaska. Whether you prefer a no-frills campout or a luxury hotel, do whatever you find rejuvenating. If you can possibly swing it, get away to relax.

There's a reason they call it beauty sleep! A full, deep, restful sleep can help you stay healthy, lose weight, be more alert, improve your concentration, increase your productivity, elevate your mood—and ensure that you wake up gorgeous. You might be aware that you look and feel better after you get a good night's sleep!

Sleep is a time for your body to repair damage caused by everyday wear and tear as well as by sun exposure, stress, illness, and so on. During sleep the body focuses on regenerating cells and on maintaining and building bones, muscles, and other tissues. This kind of repair work also can occur
while you're awake, but sleep allows the body to concentrate on healing without having to divide its energy sixteen different ways. While you are sleeping, you also recharge your immune system and rebalance the chemicals in your brain. In addition, you subconsciously process the day's events and even mull over problems—sometimes even producing bright ideas in the middle of the night. When you have a problem, it always helps to "sleep on it."

Researchers have uncovered an interesting connection between sleep and weight. People who do not get enough sleep are at increased risk of eating too much—not because they lack willpower, but because their hormones are working against them. Have you ever had a sleepless night, followed by a day when you just wanted to keep nibbling? Welcome to the effects of the hormones leptin and ghrelin.

Leptin and ghrelin work together to control feelings of hunger. Ghrelin is produced in the gastrointestinal tract and stimulates appetite. Leptin is produced by fat cells and sends a signal to the brain that you are full. Research shows that when you don't get enough sleep, it reduces your levels of leptin, so you don't feel as satisfied after you eat. Sleep loss also causes your levels of ghrelin to rise, which stimulates your appetite. This dynamic creates the perfect conditions for overeating. In fact, researchers have found that people who sleep less than seven hours per night are more likely to be overweight.

Two studies—the first conducted at the University of Chicago in Illinois and the second at Stanford University in California—reveal a great deal about how leptin and ghrelin operate. In the Chicago study, researchers subjected 12 healthy men in their 20s to two days of sleep deprivation, followed by two nights with 10 hours of sleep. During this time doctors monitored their hormone levels, appetite, and activity. After two nights of sleep deprivation, the participants'
levels of leptin (the appetite suppressor) went down, and their levels of ghrelin (the appetite stimulator) went up. They experienced greater appetite, and they specifically craved high-sugar, high-salt, and starchy foods. The researchers were surprised to discover that hormone levels could be affected so much, in such a brief amount of time.

In the Stanford study, about 1,000 volunteers reported the number of hours they slept each night. Researchers tracked their levels of ghrelin and leptin and charted their weight. This study revealed that those who slept less than eight hours a night not only had lower levels of leptin and higher levels of ghrelin but also had a higher level of body fat. Specifically, there was 4 percent increase in body mass index when sleep was decreased from eight hours to five hours—a finding that can represent a difference of 25 pounds!

Waking up with a puffy face and bags under your eyes is an unfortunate consequence of insomnia. If you are having some problems getting your beauty sleep, here are some things to try:

Take a hot shower.
If you take a relaxing shower, then lie quietly in bed, it may be just what your body needs to get to sleep. If you have time, a hot bath—complete with scented candles and bath salts—is even more relaxing.

Open the window.
Fresh air and a cool room temperature provide the best sleeping conditions. If you need more warmth, buy a cozy comforter, but leave the air temperature cool.

Get comfortable.
The kind of mattress and pillow you like best will help you get comfortable right away. Few things are more annoying than trying to sleep in an old, worn-out mattress with a lousy pillow.

Write down your worries before bed.
Try to empty your brain of concerns by writing everything down before you turn out
the light. If you have any solutions or bright ideas, write them down too. This way you don't have to keep reminding yourself to remember something.

Keep to a sleep schedule.
Your body will respond to a regular routine. Your head may complain, but your body will thank you for going to bed and waking up at the same time every day—even on weekends.

Close the curtains.
Your eyes know what time of day it is and send a daytime/nighttime message directly to the pineal gland inside your brain. When your eyes sense darkness, your pineal gland produces melatonin and you get sleepy. On the other hand, when it's light, your body knows it's time for action. This is why, if you pull an all-nighter, you'll get a "second wind" at dawn the next morning even if you never get to sleep. Be sure your bedroom is dark to help your body produce the melatonin it needs.

Hide your clock.
A big, illuminated clock may make you feel stressed and anxious about the time that is passing while you toss and turn. Cover the face of your clock so you don't obsess about the time.

Cut out caffeine.
For some people, even a small amount of caffeine early in the day can cause problems with falling asleep 12 hours later. If you're sensitive to caffeine, stay away from coffee, caffeinated tea, chocolate, and soft drinks. If you aren't sure whether caffeine is a problem for you, try eliminating caffeinated food and beverages for one week and see if your sleeping patterns improve.