Clean sleeping: what is it and should we be doing it?
This might be 2017’s new hot wellness trend but what does ‘clean sleeping’ actually mean, and should we be investing our time and effort into trying to pull it off?
The term came from none other than Gwyneth Paltrow, who wrote an article for The Daily Mail stating that sleep should be your top priority - even before you think about your diet.
Poor quality sleep can be unsettling for the metabolism and hormones, which can lead to weight gain, bad moods, impaired memory and brain fog, as well as serious health concerns such as inflammation and reduced immunity. And this one goes without saying - every girl needs her beauty sleep.
According to sleep expert Nerina Ramlakhan, author of Fast Asleep Wide Awake, she agrees that clean sleeping isn’t just about getting seven or eight hours of shut-eye at night. According to Nerina, everything we do throughout the day impacts how our body reacts when we nod off at night.
These are the top five tips for getting your sleep clean and healthy.
1. Eat breakfast every day and within 30 minutes of rising. This stops the body from running on ‘adrenaline energy’ which is one of the main causes of shallow, ‘muddy’ sleep.
2. Minimise stimulants throughout the day – especially caffeine and refined sugars. You shouldn’t use caffeine as a substitute for food, especially at breakfast time, and avoid caffeinated drinks after 2pm. So for all of you coffee lovers out there, it might be time to cut down on the Costa's!
3. Drink 1.5 to 2 litres of water a day to create clean cells and circulation. This includes diluted squash and fruit juices, and non-caffeinated herbal teas. Avoid 'low sugar' drinks which contain colorants, stimulants and other chemicals which can affect your sleep quality.
4. Get to bed around 10.30pm to enable access to that vital 90 minute phase of sleep before midnight. That has the capacity to powerfully restore and heal the body.
5. Clean up your act with technology - you can create an electronic sundown 90 minutes before you get into bed. This means if you watch TV, do this only, as you should avoid being on more than one device at a time. So for those of you (like me) who like to go on their laptop and phone when you’re lying in bed, try to avoid it.
So, if you struggle with your sleeping pattern and having bags under your eyes are a daily occurrence, these tips should get you back to a healthier and happier you, plus we all know us girls love our beauty sleep.