Getting Enough Beauty Sleep?

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Do you get enough Beauty Sleep?

If you are like me, you stay up late and wake up early. Then when you finally do fall asleep it seems that the alarm sounds way too soon. Then you hit the snooze button at least a couple of times to get those few extra minutes of beauty sleep.

Then the horror when you realize how late it is! So you jump out of bed, grab a cup of caffeine to get your eyes open, and your brain functioning, rush to get dressed, grab a bite to eat and run out the door. By the time you get to work you feel tired already!

Can you relate?

Do we really get enough good quality sleep to keep ourselves healthy mentally and physically?

Does everyone need the same amount of sleep?

Not everyone needs a full 8 hours of sleep a night. If you try to sleep more than your body needs it can lead to insomnia. Sleep time can vary anywhere between 3 and 12 hours of sleep. If you sleep that much (or little) and you feel fine, then that should be all you need. Don’t let others tell you otherwise just because their needs are different.

Do you ever feel drowsy during the day? Or you can’t stop yawning? Then maybe you are not getting as much sleep as you should.

Did you know there is a thing called “bad sleep”? If you tend to toss and turn, or get up several times in the middle of the night to go to the bathroom, you are not getting a full night’s sleep.

Here are some tips to help you get good night’s sleep to rejuvenate and help you stay healthy.

1. Don’t eat in the last few hours before you go to bed, (especially sweets!). A full stomach can interrupt sleep, and cause gain weight. If you really must eat something try to eat foods such as milk, turkey, yogurt, ice cream, soy beans, tuna, and peanuts. These have high levels of Tryptophan which help the body produce Serotonin that relaxes the body.

2. Don’t exercise in the few last hours before you go to sleep, exercise boosts your heart rate, gives you energy, and keeps you wide awake. I’m guilty of this one (sometimes it is the only time I have)!

3. Don’t drink less than an hour before you go to sleep, and using the bathroom right before you go to bed can help prevent those middle of the night trips to the bathroom.

4. Don’t read, watch TV, listen to music, or anything that engages your mind when you’re getting ready to sleep. This is a hard one as many people have a TV in their bedroom. Note- this also can diminish you sex life!

5. Avoid drinking alcohol before bed which will make you feel sleepy, but can actually reduce the quality of your sleep.

6. Avoid caffeine late at night (similar affect to #2).

7. Avoid taking naps during the day, or you may toss and turn all night and awake up more tired than when you went to sleep.

8. A lack of physical exertion during the day can also reduce the quality of your sleep. The body does it’s repairs and recovery during sleep. But if there isn’t much exertion to recover from, your body’s sleep cycle could be disrupted.

Regular exercise can help you have a deeper, more restful sleep.

Taking a nice hot bath or shower before bed can also help you sleep better.

Good rule of thumb:

Don’t stay up if you feel sleepy.

Don’t go to bed if you’re not sleepy.

When you get the right amount of sleep for the specific needs of your body you will feel rejuvenated, more healthy and beautiful.

Fuel and Energy During Exercise

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The debate starts on the topic of which body fuel is, and should be, used during exercise. Most commentators acknowledge that in low intensity exercise (eg walking, hiking and jogging), fat is metabolised for energy and the body respires aerobically. Fat is used for energy during aerobic respiration as oxygen is required to metabolise it. Aerobic respiration takes longer as oxygen needs to be circulated to the muscles for the process to be complete.

During high intensity exercise (eg running and sprinting), the body respires anaerobically – without oxygen – as energy is required faster than oxygen can be circulated to the muscles. Anaerobic respiration involves the partial breakdown of glucose (called glycolysis) producing a short burst of energy for a few minutes. Lactic acid is also produced during glycolysis and begins to take effect within minutes causing cramp and muscle fatigue. Stored carbohydrate – glycogen stored in the muscles – is metabolised during anaerobic respiration.

Glycogen is thought to provide fuel for approximately 2 hours of medium to high intensity exercise. On a personal level I would disagree with that. I would start to notice decreasing energy levels after around 1 hour 15 or 1 hour 30. After this time period (which is likely different for each individual) a new source of fuel is needed – either eating or drinking simple carbohydrates (sugar/glucose) or lowering the intensity level of your exercise so fat can be metabolised. So when competing in a sprint triathlon, running or cycling race, or a race that will last longer than 1hr 30 to 2 hrs (approximately) then simple carbohydrates – such as sports drinks are required.

Out of all body energy sources available – fat, carbohydrate and protein (which in extreme circumstances such as starvation can be converted to energy), fat has the highest energy content. Fat contains 9 kcals (food calories) per gram, carbohydrates and protein each contain 4 kcals per gram. So it makes sense to metabolise fat where possible but this may constrain you from exercising at a medium to high intensity.

This raises the question of whether the body can metabolise fat during medium to high intensity exercise.

The key to improving the body’s ability to metabolise fat at medium to high intensity exercise is to increase your lactate threshold. The lactate threshold is the maximum steady state effort that can be maintained without lactate continually increasing. Exercising above this level is where lactate production in the blood is faster than lactate clearance. After a few minutes cramps and muscle fatigue set in. Increasing your lactate threshold is done by exercising at an intensity that is periodically above your lactate threshold through interval training or fartlek (these entail training at periodic bursts of high intensity followed by lower intensity exercise). This forces the body to become more efficient at lactate clearance. While your body still will not be able to metabolise fat above your lactate threshold, it will be able to metabolise fat at a higher intensity of exercise and so use fat as a fuel for exercise more frequently.

Before beginning medium to high intensity exercise, or increasing the intensity of your exercise, we would recommend you seek professional advice.

Lose Weight Faster By Busting Your Food Addictions

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No matter how much you may want to lose weight, if you suffer from food addictions then you will struggle until you bust through this fat gaining affliction.

Many addictions have a powerful psychological and physical component. Food addictions don’t cause rapid addiction like nasty drugs but they can still impact heavily on a person’s life.

The word addiction isn’t quite accurate; it’s more like a strong mental connection. This is developed over time.

Carbohydrate has the effect of suppressing cortisol which is a stress hormone. This translates as you eat cake and you feel less stressed. It is actually true, but the side effect is fat gain and blood sugar problems.

This connection is often made early in life you are given treats as rewards for good behaviour or not behaving badly. As life goes on you start to reach for certain foods for comfort. This becomes a habit.

Blood Sugar Problems

A common cause of the food addiction is the food itself. If you feel bad you eat some chocolate, your blood sugar rises quickly and you get a sense of wellbeing. As you burn off the sugar your levels drop. Again you feel bad, so you eat more chocolate, and the cycle continues.

This can be any kind of carbohydrate. What appears to be a craving is just your body trying to balance its sugar levels.

Stress Eating Addiction

The first level is stress eating then it leads to food addiction. You create a strong bond with food and in time the food is used like a sedative. In order to head off bad feelings you eat these foods even before you need them.

If you don’t have these foods at hand you become agitated and seek to find them. Like all addictions the first step is to recognise the problems exist.

Next you need to understand exactly what need the food is meeting. What problems in your life are you trying to mask with food?

Next you must find a better way to deal with your problem. Seek out help. If you don’t then not only will the problem continue but you will continue to gain weight.

Food addiction is solved by addressing your blood sugar irregularities. This is easily achieved by eating good food at the right times of day and learning to manage your stress. Food can never solve your problems but it sure can make it worse.

Younger Looking Eyes Are Possible

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It’s a fact these days that younger looking eyes are possible with just the right eye makeup and a bit of health-type steps. For one, gaining a youthful look around the eyes can be done as long as one make sure to avoid using dark or heavy makeup because it tends to age people greater than what they really are. Remember to consistently take care of the eyes to avoid premature wrinkling.

There are some well regarded health techniques that can help, too. For one, health experts are correct when they advise people to stay hydrated if for no other reason than to be healthy. Skin that is well hydrated tends not to wrinkle nearly as easily and will not dry out as quickly. Dry skin can lead to unsightly wrinkles even when one is young, so keep that in mind when it comes to hydration.

Another great way to bring a youthful appearance to the eyes is to pay attention to the things around it such as the eyebrows. Take a look at them and groom them carefully so that they take on an attractive shape. Most makeup experts say that keeping eyebrows nicely shaped can help take years off of the face. Eliminate any hairs that stray outside of the natural brow line, for one.

The use of makeup, when applied properly, is probably the quickest way to bring a more youthful look to the eyes. Take the time to ensure that the makeup work that is done is simple yet complete and look to use cosmetics to improve appearance but does not bring any sort of color to the area around the eyes. Blend in cosmetics so that they look smooth and do not have layers or lines.

Almost every makeup expert will also say that anybody who is trying to keep the eyes useful also needs to curl the eyelashes. Combine curling with the application of mascara to the top lashes and use Brown-black or brown mascara only. Completely black mascara tends to put years on when it comes to the appearance of the eyes and how they might look to others.

Additionally, the Internet is full of health remedies that can assist in taking years from the eyes and many of them are well-known tricks and tips. Just go online and look for a couple of the better ones and use them consistently. In the end, the two best things that one can do to bring younger looking eyes about is to stay hydrated and to avoid dark eye makeup above everything else.A