Can’t sleep? Maybe it’s time to get that fixed.
Getting more beauty sleep can help you not only feel like you have more energy, it is related to other brain functions, metabolism, and aging! Science has shown getting enough sleep could make you smarter, and reduce your risk of dementia. Catching a few more Zs may even make you prettier, and improve your body weight.
7 Surprising Reasons You Should Get More Sleep
- Fewer wrinkles
- Makes you smarter
- Lower risk of dementia
- Helps with weight loss
- Better able to handle stress
- Promotes happiness
- Helps with muscle recovery
You need your beauty sleep. It’s more than the bags under your eyes; research has linked a lack of sleep with less productivity, emotional instability, wrinkles, dementia, weight gain and unhappiness. If you’re struggling to get enough sleep, maybe it’s time to get that fixed.
Does a lack of sleep cause wrinkles and aging?
You may be aging faster because you don’t get enough sleep. According to researchers, the aging effects of your lack of sleep is likely to first be noticed on your skin. When tested, the skin of good sleepers had aged less than their poor sleeping peers. Interestingly, those who got more beauty sleep also felt more attractive. However, the more alarming effects of a lack of sleep you can’t see.
Sleep and dementia risk
Not getting enough sleep can increase your risk of dementia. Researchers have found short term sleep deprivation causes an increase in beta-amyloid (a waste product) in the fluid between brain cells. Beta-amyloid can clump together to form amyloid plaques. This is seen in Alzheimer’s disease. These plaques negatively impact how neurons communicate. The researchers found just one night of sleep causes the levels of beta-amyloid to increase 5 percent in brain regions especially vulnerable to damage in the early stages of Alzheimer’s disease.
Are there risks to burning the candle at both ends?
Structures in the brain also appear to be negatively affected by a lifestyle spent burning the candle at both ends. When over 1300 tired, but otherwise healthy, adults (age 50 years and older) underwent a magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) to determine how certain components of their brain were aging, the results were concerning. Prolonged lack of sleep appears to make the brain age faster.
Do you suffer from excessive daytime sleepiness or fatigue?
Adults who struggle with these sleepy issues perform poorly on cognitive tests, when compared to their peers, according to researchers. Sounds like its time to rework your schedule so you can book in more time to sleep.
Does sleep help with aging?
Yes, allowing the brain to rest is an important factor in its health. Studies show sleep plays an important role in moderating cognitive aging. In 2013, a study conducted in Finland found that adults who get enough good-quality sleep during their midlife years have better cognitive function 20 years later. Not getting enough sleep is associated with a greater risk of age-related brain atrophy and cognitive decline.
Sleep Helps Your Muscle Recover
In a review of clinical trials, there appears to be significant effects on the body when sleep is lacking, which includes skeletal muscle metabolism. Scientists point to concerning evidence that a lack of sleep in adults could increase the likelihood of sarcopenia (muscle loss with age) which increases the risk of broken bones… and, makes it harder for you to be kickin' it on the dance floor or booting it up the hiking path in retirement.
How much sleep do I need?
Recommendations vary; however, majority of health organizations suggest adults should sleep about 8 hours a day, with 6 to 7 hours being suffice for some elderly adults.
Don’t let fatigue trick you down the rabbit hole of self-doubt, or feelings of unattractiveness. You are beautiful! You are capable of outstanding things including getting a good night’s sleep, achieving a healthier lifestyle. Make sleep a priority and wake up to a whole new world of healthy!
Sweet dreams.
REFERENCES
The role of physical and behavioural self-disgust in relation to insomnia and suicidal ideation. J Clin Sleep Med 2019 Mar 15; 15(3): 525-527.
Negative effects of restricted sleep on facial appearance and social appeal. Royal Society Open Science, 17 May 2017.
Does poor sleep quality affect skin ageing? Clin Exp Dermatol 2015 Jan;40(1):17-22.
Impact of sleep on the risk of cognitive decline and dementia. Curr Opin Psychiatry 2014 Nov; 27(6):478-483.
Effects of sleep deprivation on sarcopenia and obesity: A narrative review of randomized controlled and crossover trials. J Frality Sarcopenia 2021 Jun 1;6(2):50-56.
Excessive daytime sleepiness and fatigue may indicate accelerated brain aging in cognitively normal late middle-aged and older adults. Sleep Med 2017 Apr; 32: 236-243.
β-Amyloid accumulation in the human brain after one night of sleep deprivation. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, April 2018; 115(17).
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