I find myself typing this blog at 6am when I should be sleeping. It's the school holidays and I have every opportunity to sleep in but unfortunately my sleep patterns have other ideas.
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| Picture Courtesy of Google Images |
Social Media comes to my rescue to entertain me at this hour. Finding out what the rest of the world is doing is always intriguing. However, this is probably the worst activity I could have picked to amuse me.
The dictionary defines sleep as;
noun: sleep
- 1.a condition of body and mind which typically recurs for several hours every night, in which the nervous system is inactive, the eyes closed, the postural muscles relaxed, and consciousness practically suspended."I was on the verge of sleep"
- literarya state compared to or resembling sleep, such as death or complete silence or stillness."a photograph of the poet in his last sleep"
- informal(typically in the context of anticipating a forthcoming event) a night, or a night's sleep."two more sleeps till I fly to LA"
- 2.a gummy secretion found in the corners of the eyes after sleep."she sat up, rubbing the sleep from her eyes"
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So why am I not sleeping? It's like my body goes through different cycles when sometimes all I can do is sleep and then other times like now, when 5 hours tops is all I'm getting. :-(
As I ponder as to why this happening to me, here are some reasons why sleep deprivation may be haunting you.
1. Stress - Your mind is constantly ticking as you try to close your eyes. You toss and turn and counting sheep is not cutting it. It's almost as if your eyes stay wide open the entire time.
2. Illness - that damn runny nose is dripping like a tap and there are tissues thrown around everywhere. I usually shove the corner of a tissue up my nose just so I don't have to blow it AGAIN. Or when razor blades take residence in your throat. You struggle to swallow and end up with a puddle of saliva all over your pillow, as you lie there breathing through your mouth.
3. Excitement - as in a big event occurring the following day. (Get your minds out of the gutter peeps lol). I have arrived at a Bride's house in the early hours of the morning to apply the Bridal Party Make up, only to find they have had little or no sleep due to the excitement of the day ahead. Who can sleep when your besties are sleeping next to you, reminding you this is your last single night at home.
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| SLEEP PATTERNS Pictures Courtesy of Google Images |
So how can we overcome these dreaded sleepless nights?
1. Wind down before going to bed with a nice warm cup of herbal tea - Chamomile is my favourite.
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2. Avoid computer screens and phones - NO SOCIAL MEDIA - I'm reinforcing this to myself as I'm guilty of this 100% of the time.
3. Gentle exercise could be beneficial or even a walk around the block after dinner. This would also help with stress. Clearing your head and breathing in fresh air sounds like a great combination to relax you before sleep.
4. Have a relaxing warm bath. Add essential oils to the bath - lavender is always peaceful. Burn a few candles to create the ambience.
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| Picture Courtesy of Google Images |
5. My favourite would be to receive a massage before bed. This relaxes the muscles and helps you unwind. The only problem is getting your partner to do it for longer than 2 minutes before they give up.
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| Picture Courtesy of Google Images |
Lastly, how does sleep benefit your beauty regime.
1. While you are sleeping, the skin regenerates and new skin cells are formed. Serums and Night Creams that are applied, do their job by penetrating into the skin layers and promote the production of collagen and elastin.
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Pictures Courtesy of Google Images |
2. Your nails grow whilst you are resting. Popping on some cuticle oil onto your nails will help nourish them.
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Pictures Courtesy of Google Images |
3. An oil hair treatment can be put on whilst you sleep, to nourish the hair. Pop the treatment on and put on a plastic shower cap to protect the pillow.
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| Hair Mask - Picture Courtesy of Google Images. |
4. Sleep will make you look refreshed in the morning and dark circles under the eyes are less visible. However, dark circles unfortunately can also be genetic (meaning if your mum or dad has dark circles, its more than likely you will inherit this too), or can be an indication of poor diet and ill health.
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| Picture Courtesy of Google Images |
5. Dry and scaly feet can be treated whilst you are sleeping, by rubbing on foot balm on your feet and popping on some loose socks so that the skin soaks it up.
| Pictures courtesy of Google Images. |
So sleep is beneficial not only to stay awake the following day, but also to assist in our beauty regime. After all, they do call it BEAUTY SLEEP!!!! Time for Sandikay to get some zeeeeez I think. #feelingblah
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Pictures Courtesy of Google Images |
SK x
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| Picture Courtesy of Google Images. |
