Beauty Sleep - Is It A Dream?

As women we know that a lack of sleep leaves us irritable; however most of us are unaware of the damage it may be doing to our skin? Besides being an essential component of a healthy lifestyle, getting 8 hours of sleep per night helps improve the texture and the luminosity of our skin. During the night the skin is restored from the harmful effects of daily stress. When we do not get the required sleep our skin suffers. This is especially noticeable in the fragile skin under the eyes. The under eye area is almost fifty percent thinner than the skin on the face. Sleepless nights leaves behind fine lines, dark circles or puffy bags. Cosmetic treatments can soften the effects of sleep deprivation but preventive medicine is the best cure. Eye treatments are limited in their ability and cannot reverse the stress that a lack of sleep will do to the skin.

Sleep experts say that we need 8 hours of sleep per night. However, the latest research shows that women average 6 hours and forty minutes of sleep during the week and 7 hours on the weekend. Besides the extra work that women have to contend with (helping with homework, laundry, cooking, etc.) and the many concerns that keep them from sleep, women are also be kept awake by - small children who wake during the night, teenagers coming home late, aging parents who get up during the night.

What can we do to sleep more peacefully and longer? Here are some hints:

1. Eliminate noise from your bedroom. Bedroom sounds should be low and consistent. Try earplugs.
2. Keep your room dark by using dark fabric on your windows. If that is not possible, try eyeshades.
3. The temperature of the room should be cool.
4. A relaxing bath before you go to bed will induce sleep.
5. Set a schedule to arise, no matter what time you went to bed the night before.
6. Turn your clock so you can't see the time if you wake up in the middle of the night.
7. Keep TV's and computers out of the bedroom, make it a place just for sleep and sex.
8. Get a queen-size mattress if you don't sleep alone. We need room to move.
9. Avoid alcohol before sleeping. While alcohol may help us fall asleep, it will also wake us in the middle of the night.
10. Avoid nicotine before going to bed because it is a stimulant.
11. Don' go to bed hungry or overly full. Have a snack early in the night.
12. Watch your coffee intake. Caffeine from coffee, tea, cola and chocolate can affect you for up to twelve hours.
13. If you fret during the night or if you think of something that you must do the next day, write it down so you can deal with it in the morning.
14. Try natural-fill pillows such as down or feather because they have the most adjustability. If you suffer from back pain put a pillow between your knees for a more comfortable sleep.

Happy Sleeping!!!!!

Sheila Dicks is a wardrobe and image consultant who teaches women how to look slimmer by dressing to suit their body type. Visit her at http://www.sheilasfashionsense.com to download a copy of her e-book Image Makeovers and get How to Build a Wardrobe free.

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In this Nov. 13, 2008 file photo, Robert Barber, second from left, a Vietnam Veteran from Bronx, N.Y., talks with a recruiter at the New York State Labor Department job fair for veterans in New York. The government said Thursday, Nov. 20, 2008, new claims for unemployment benefits jumped last week to a 16-year high, providing more evidence of a rapidly weakening labor market. (AP Photo/Bebeto Matthews, File)AP - New claims for unemployment benefits jumped last week to a 16-year high, the Labor Department said Thursday, providing more evidence of a rapidly weakening job market expected to get even worse next year.



Professional recruiter John Kasyanenko, right, of Express Employment Professionals gives his business card to a woman seeking a work at a job fair sponsored by Monster.com in New York, Wednesday, Nov. 12, 2008. The number of newly laid-off individuals seeking unemployment benefits has jumped to a seven-year high, the government said Thursday, Nov. 13, 2008. (AP Photo/Kathy Willens)AP - With weekly jobless claims benefits at a 16-year high, the White House said Thursday that President George W. Bush would quickly sign legislation pending in Congress to provide further unemployment benefits.



Arizona Gov. Janet Napolitano testifies on Capitol Hill in Washington, Thursday, Nov. 13, 2008, before the House Energy and Commerce Committee hearing on health care coverage issues. (AP Photo/Lauren Victoria Burke)AP - Arizona Gov. Janet Napolitano, an early Barack Obama supporter from the southwestern part of the country, is the likely choice for the job of secretary of homeland security, a top Obama adviser said Thursday.



Traders work on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange Thursday, Nov. 20, 2008.  (AP Photo/Jason DeCrow)AP - Fresh worries about widening unemployment added to investors' list of concerns about the economy Thursday and extended Wall Street's sell-off to a second day. The major indexes each fell more than 1.5 percent, including the Dow Jones industrial average, which lost 110 points.



AP - Aides to a bipartisan group of auto-state senators say they have reached a compromise to speed emergency loans to Detroit's Big Three car makers.

AP - Ted Stevens, an old-style Senate giant and the chamber's longest-serving Republican, delivered his swansong address and yielded the floor for the final time Thursday. He was saluted by his colleagues as a staunch friend and teacher.

In this image from NASA TV, a tool  kit bag, center, as seen through the helmet camera of astronaut Heidemarie Stefanyshyn-Piper, floats away from the International Space Station after she lost hold of it during a procedure during a 6 1/2-hour scheduled space walk outside the space station, Tuesday, Nov. 18, 2008. (AP Photo/NASA TV)AP - Astronauts vowed to double-check, even triple-check all their tethers to make sure a bag of tools is properly tied down during a spacewalk Thursday so it doesn't float away like one did earlier this week.



AP - Despite the bad economy, U.S. Internet advertising revenue rose in the third quarter, according to an analysis released Thursday.

In this Nov. 5, 2008 file photo, rapper 50 Cent also known as Curtis Jackson poses backstage at MTV's 'Total Request Live' show in New York.  (AP Photo/Peter Kramer, file)AP - Rapper 50 Cent is facing a challenge to his street cred — from Taco Bell.



Cleveland Browns quarterback Brady Quinn throws during the second half of the NFL football game against the Buffalo Bills at Ralph Wilson Stadium in Orchard Park, N.Y., Monday, Nov. 17, 2008. The Browns won 29-27.(AP Photo/David Duprey)AP - Cleveland Browns quarterback Brady Quinn broke his right index finger in Monday night's win over Buffalo but will try to play Sunday against the Houston Texans.



A man registers to begin his search for a job at the Verdugo Jobs Center in Glendale, California, November 7, 2008. (Fred Prouser/Reuters)Reuters - The number of U.S. workers filing new claims for jobless benefits surged last week to their highest level in 16 years, Labor Department data showed on Thursday, as a harsh economic environment forces employers to cut back on hiring.



Shoppers pass a window display at the high-end luxury goods maker Henri Bendel along 5th Avenue in New York, November 19, 2008. (Mike Segar/Reuters)Reuters - Fears of a deep, long global recession intensified on Thursday as markets hit new lows in alarm at reports of record U.S. job losses, oil prices plunging below $50 a barrel and worry that U.S. automakers would not get a bailout from Washington.



President-elect Barack Obama on stage with Arizona Governor Janet Napolitano during a rally in Phoenix, January 30, 2008. (Jason Reed/Reuters)Reuters - President-elect Barack Obama is considering Arizona Gov. Janet Napolitano to be U.S. Homeland Security secretary, heading a sprawling agency formed to bolster civil defense in the wake of the September 11 attacks, a senior Democrat said.



Reuters - Three U.S. senators were still working on a bipartisan bill to assist the automotive industry and hoped to reach a deal, a Democratic Senate aide told Reuters on Thursday.

Reuters - Five of six Algerians must be released after nearly seven years of captivity at the U.S. military prison at Guantanamo Bay in Cuba, a federal judge ruled on Thursday.

Reuters - U.S. forces killed a senior al Qaeda leader wanted for planning suicide bombings, kidnappings and assassinations, including the abduction and killing of a U.S. army sergeant in 2004, the U.S. military said on Thursday.

Reuters - A pact allowing U.S. troops to stay in Iraq for three more years has a chance of being approved by parliament despite some heated opposition, Foreign Minister Hoshiyar Zebari said on Thursday.

Supporters hold signs during a 'No on Prop 8' rally in West Hollywood, November 5, 2008. (Mario Anzuoni/Reuters)Reuters - California's Supreme Court on Wednesday agreed to hear a legal challenge against the state's voter-approved ban on gay marriage and let the ban stand in the meantime.



US auto giant executives wait to testify before the House Finincial Services Committee on Capitol Hill in Washington, DC. Governments scrambled to cushion the impact of the financial crisis with France launching a 20-billion-euro sovereign wealth fund and China unveiling a jobs protection plan as the car industry made huge new cuts.(AFP/Tim Sloan)AFP - Governments scrambled to cushion the impact of the financial crisis Thursday with France launching a 20-billion-euro sovereign wealth fund and China unveiling a jobs protection plan as the car industry made huge new cuts.



A picture taken in 2007 shows the Delight cargo ship anchored in the port of Hamburg, Germany. Somali pirate attacks have spun AFP - Russia announced Thursday it would send more warships to combat piracy in the waters around Somalia, as the Saudi owners of the Sirius Star negotiated with the pirates holding their oil tanker.




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