Sleep Is the Key to Feeling and Looking Younger

It's widely known now that sleep is one of the key ingredients to looking and feeling younger. For mental and physical health, adults are recommended seven to nine hours of sleep a night, regularly. One of the best ways to promote and boost the beautifying aftermath of sleep is having a healthy evening routine. This means avoiding eating too late, putting away technology before bed, and having a proper setting that makes it easier to fall asleep.

If you want to know how you can maximize the benefits of sleep, the following tips can show you how your evening routine should look to have a good night's rest.

Address Your Nighttime Eating and Drinking Habits

A standard piece of medical advice you may have heard is that you should cut caffeine intake by 3 pm. Caffeine can affect your sleep up to six hours after you consume it, so if you're committed to resetting your night routine to have a better night's sleep, ensure you trim down the amount of caffeine you consume according to the time you usually go to bed. As far as dinner goes, experts advise eating at least three hours before you go to bed. This gives your body enough time to digest the food, allowing you to have a good rest.

Ensure Your Sleep Environment Is Conducive to Sleep

To the greatest extent possible, your bedroom needs to be dark, cozy, and cool. Part of that comfort also includes eliminating distractions, such as the TV, computer, and phone. In addition, there are a few things you may want to add to your sleep setting to help you sleep better and maximize the effects of a good night's rest: Make sure you have some good bedding and pillows. You don't need to invest in expensive, hotel-quality stuff, but ensure that your pillows and bedding aren't adding to your discomfort. You can also invest in comfortable clothing that doesn’t sacrifice quality like a new pair of pajamas or a nightgown.

Having a fan to keep the air cool is also a good investment you may need to consider. Also, get a white noise machine or a similar device that helps enhance your sleep quality. You can even set up your smart speaker to provide this for you. White noise is not only soothing for babies but for adults, as well, allowing you to fall asleep faster.

Decompress With an Evening Bath or Shower

Studies have shown that a hot shower or a warm bath a couple of hours before bedtime can enhance the quality of sleep tremendously and cut down the time it takes to fall asleep. Our bodies naturally cool in order to initiate sleep, and bathing can help accelerate the signal to our brains that it's time to sleep as we cool down afterward. Besides de-stressing with a hot shower, you can also meditate, do yoga, or do your affirmations.

Reduce Long Daytime Naps

Although short daytime naps are beneficial, long or irregular ones can negatively impact the way you sleep at night. Sleeping during the day can disturb your internal clock, which means that you may end up having a hard time falling asleep at night. In fact, a study showed that people could feel even sleepier throughout the day after taking daytime naps. Another research demonstrated that although napping for 30 minutes or less can improve daytime brain function, longer naps can negatively affect health and sleep quality. Still, if you take frequent naps during the daytime and sleep well at night, you should not concern yourself with this as the effects of napping depend on the individual.

Manage Stress

There are few things that undermine the amount and quality of your rest as stress. It is difficult to eliminate stress entirely, but there are some techniques to make it more manageable. It is especially important to reduce stress at home, so alleviate stress by keeping things organized and decluttered. Paint your bedroom in calming colors and add some indoor houseplants.'

The Bottom Line

Experts advise and provide their best tips to help set you up for a restful sleep that improves your well-being from the inside out. Because sleep also helps you look and feel younger, consider adopting these practices as your everyday routine so you can take advantage of all its benefits.