How Much Sleep Do You Need for Younger-Looking Skin

It’s not called beauty rest for nothing and science seems to agree. The findings of a recent research by physician scientists at the University Hospitals (UH) Case Medical Center revealed that poor sleep quality could actually weaken the skin’s ability to repair itself. Hence, individuals with poor quality of sleep tend to exhibit advanced signs of skin aging. Here at our New Jersey plastic surgery practice, we encourage our clients to take care of their skin both from the inside and out, which includes getting high quality sleep.

Phases of Sleep
Sleep is your body’s way of recovering from all the work it did during the day. To improve your quality of sleep, it is also crucial that you understand the different phases of sleep.

Deep and Light Sleep – are the two phases that simultaneously occur during the first few hours of sleep. During these phases, your brain’s neurons slow down while growth hormones are at its peak for muscle tissue repair. Your immune system is also trying to recover around this time.

REM Sleep – Short term memories are consolidated and transferred to your long-term memory banks. This phase largely influences your ability to focus the next day.

Do Length and Timing Matter?
You’ve probably heard about the 8-hour requirement for a good night’s sleep. It turns out that this is actually just a myth. A study published in this Time article found out that people who sleep between 6.5 and 7.5 hours a night are actually happier, more productive, and live the longest. Interestingly, those who sleep longer tend to suffer from depression, obesity, and heart disease.

The key lesson from such findings is to actually observe how many hours of sleep make you feel refreshed the next day. Also, once you notice that you’re nodding off at 9pm , hit the sack, and do not just shake of that “sleepy” feeling.

To arrange your initial consultation with Dr. Weinstein and learn more about ways to help your skin look youthful, get in touch with us at our Chester Clinic by calling us at (908)879.2222 or by filling out this contact form. Make an appointment today and experience the life changing effects of plastic surgery!

Posted in Health and Fitness, Plastic Surgery, Statistics on August 23rd, 2013

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