Struggling to get your beauty sleep?  Health Coach and Wellness advisor for Correxiko Charlotte Dormon gives us some advise on natural ways to sleep well and wake up  looking & feeling great 

March is Sleep Awareness month in the UK, and everyone is talking about all the ways we can help ourselves to improve our sleep. 

Good sleep and getting enough of it, is something that is essential for all areas of our mental and physical health (it even helps us look more fresh faced and fights wrinkles!), but research from The Sleep Council has found out that over 40 percent of us don’t get the recommended six to nine hours of sleep a night. 

We’ve all had trouble sleeping at one time or another, whether it’s chronic insomnia or just a bad night, but while some people are able to cope with little sleep, the majority of us just feel terrible. 

And when it comes to struggling the following day with a lack of shut-eye from erratic sleep; it can affect how you feel (say hello to Miss Moody) and how good you look (say hello to dealing with lacklustre skin, puffy eyes and new wrinkles you didn’t even recall seeing the night before.  

Often we are just too wired to sleep well no thanks to excess caffeine, sugar, alcohol and stress – all of which can all play havoc with our hormones and ability to get a good nights rest.

But good quality sleep is arguably the most important thing we need when it comes to optimal health.

There is a reason why all wellbeing and beauty experts say ‘you’ve got to get your beauty sleep’ and that’s because going to bed and getting as much rest as you can is imperative for us to refresh, repair and rejuvenate from the inside out.

So, whether you’re a night owl or a morning lark, you need to find a way to get as much sleep as possible so you can to wake up fresh-faced and fighting fit. Here are some ideas that might just do the trick..

Get your bedroom set up for super sleep. 

Is your bedroom sleep-enhancing or sleep wrecking? Check that your room is set up for giving you the best nights sleep.

Shut off any technology that emit any bright or flashing lights, such as computers, phones, TV boxes, alarm clocks etc.

The darker your room is, the better chance you have of producing more melatonin to ensure you get deep sleep. Eye masks and earplugs will also be a good investment for those sensitive to noise and light that simply can’t be blocked out.

Electronic light has been shown to disrupt your circadian rhythm along with suppressing melatonin – the hormone that promotes sleep.

Establish an evening wind down routine 

Getting into the habit of going to bed at a regular time each night and getting up at the same time each morning is one of the easiest ways you can improve your sleep.

Although it may seem like a smart move, lie ins and long naps at the weekend disrupt our body clocks which in turn could disrupt our sleep and make it harder to fall asleep during the week.

So, a way to ensure you get the right amount of sleep is setting up a bedtime routine. For example, locking up, brushing your teeth, bathing, setting you alarm clock and reading for 20 minutes before bed, will all help to get you in the mood for sleep.

Get more C 

When trying to get a better night’s sleep, you need to support and calm your nervous system and there are some nutrients that may help you.

Adequate vitamin C levels are important as it helps to nourish the adrenal glands. When you nourish your adrenal glands the system calms down which can help with the anxiety and stress that can cause insomnia. Research has shown that a lack of vitamin C could contribute to sleep loss.

Feeding your skin the right nutrients from within, is just as (if not even more) important to sleeping well as it is to looking like you’ve slept well.

Drink collagen – Correxiko Collagen powder

We start to rapidly lose our natural collagen stores from the age of 25 years old.

Collagen is ‘the glue’ that holds us together and has been hailed as a miracle supplement by leaders in the beauty industry.

So, topping up on this skin, hair and nail enhancing wonder supplement is a must to keep our skin from sagging, and helping it stay soft and plump.

Fine lines, thinning skin, excessive dryness and pigmentation are all part of our natural ageing process.

But if we don’t look after our skin (sun damage, stress, bad diet, alcohol, etc), these signs can be accelerated.

What’s more, collagen contains glycine (an amino acid) that has been shown to improve the quality of sleep. Studies have also shown that glycine significantly improves fatigue and daytime sleepiness in people who experience insomnia.

For better sleep and better skin, try adding a tablespoon of Correxiko Collagen powder to warm or cold water to replenish your depleted stores.

TRY CBD

CBD can also help aid the quality of your sleep. Indeed, insomnia and sleep disorders are among the top five reasons for taking CBD.

CBD works directly on the endocannabinoid system in the brain, enhancing the effects of other brain chemicals, such as serotonin and anandamide, to reduce pain perception, relieve anxiety and stress, improve sleep and lift mood.

REM sleep means Rapid Eye Movement and is essentially the term for when we enter a deeper phase of sleep, usually when you dream. It’s also the kind of sleep you hope to get several times during the night as it helps process emotions and memories and is essential to long-term wellbeing.

Not only is CBD great for promoting REM sleep but also CBD also reduces muscle tension, restlessness and anxiety. Many studies have proven the effectiveness of CBD on sleep quality.

Indeed, a recent study presented at the sixteenth annual conference of the International Society of Sports Nutrition in 2019 showed that taking just 15mg CBD for six weeks produced significant improvements in sleep and quality of life, such as less daytime sleepiness.

Sleep on silk  

Messy hair, don’t care? Hmmm, maybe not when you only have 30 minutes to get ready for your morning work Zoom meeting.

If you often wake up with hair that resembles a wild nest on top your head, and have nightmare knots to content with, then a silk pillowcase will be the answer to your glossy hair prayers.

Silk pillows are becoming a real trend in the The US for enhancing beauty sleep, and as well as helping your hair stay sleek, smooth and tangle-free, sleeping on a silk pillowcase will help your skin retain moisture and prevent you from waking up with pillow creases all over your face.

Silk isn’t only renowned for its anti-ageing effects, but also for its gentle texture that promotes relaxation. It’s soothing and cooling appeal will also help to improve the quality of sleep as it helps to control and reduce hot flushes.

Don’t eat late, have a protein shake 

Whilst we might be asleep, our bodies are working super hard overnight to repair and recover what we have carried out during the day, both mentally and physically. This is when our deep and very essential repair work starts to take place.

Eating a big meal late at night can cause us to sleep very badly and cause us to wake up bloated in the night and groggy the next morning.

If you are someone who works late, or works out late, making a healthy sleep supportive protein shake will be a great solution.

By blending some protein powder with a tablespoon of oats, a teaspoon of almond butter, a heaped teaspoon of Correxiko collagen powder and half a small banana together as an alternative to a late and heavy evening meal, this will not only help you sleep better but it will also help you release more tryptophan (the sleepy brain chemical).

The protein and fat will also help to stabilise your blood sugars which will prevent you from waking up in the night.