Beauty Benefits of Sleep and What I Do to Improve My Sleep Quality

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Beauty Benefits of Sleep and What I Do to Improve My Sleep Quality

There are exactly two things you can do to seriously stave off skin aging: wearing SPF during the day, and getting high quality sleep at night. When I was younger, I didn’t used to take the whole sleeping thing too seriously. After all, who cares how nice my sheets are if I am not even awake to appreciate them. As I’ve grown older, and dare I say wiser, I learned that improving the quality of my sleep had a massively positive effect not only on my overall appearance, but on my mental and physical state, too.

Some of the beauty benefits of sleep include:

• Increased collagen. Since most of the collagen production happens when we sleep, in the morning the skin looks plumper and firmer.
• Less wrinkles. During the night our facial muscles have a chance to relax, so the skin can bounce back.
• Fewer breakouts. A good night’s rest helps reduce the inflammation in the body.
• Glowing skin. During the night, the blood flow to our head increases, which results in dewy, rosy complexion in the morning.
• Fuller hair. This is actually also the result of increased blood flow to the head. Since hair follicles receive more nutrients throughout the night, the hair is stronger and less prone to breaking and falling out.
• Skincare is more effective. Every beauty professional will tell you that you should never skimp on anti-aging skincare at night. Again, because of the increased blood flow, the skin is more responsive to the active ingredients in beauty products, which makes them more effective.

While the exact amount of hours you need to sleep at night to keep the body healthy is largely individual, for most adults the magic number will be within 7-8 hours of uninterrupted sleep. To be honest, I still struggle with getting 7 uninterrupted hours every night, but I’ve been trying to go to bed earlier lately, so maybe soon enough I will be able to enjoy the full benefits of beauty sleep.

Last year in an effort to improve the quality of my sleep, I finally decided to invest in a good mattress, and it made a huge difference! I stayed asleep longer, woke up less often throughout the night, and felt more refreshed in the morning. To further enhance my sleeping experience, a few weeks ago I dressed up my new mattress with several accessories from Tomorrow Sleep, a brand that takes sleep quality very seriously.

At the time of this post, Tomorrow Sleep offers hybrid mattresses, memory foam pillows, plush pillows, comforters, sheet sets, mattress protector, drapes, and a sleep tracker monitor. I had the opportunity of trying all of those, but only chose the items I was most interested in using at the time. Since I already had a mattress I was happy with, I selected a few other products that can further enhance my beauty sleep.

Today I wanted to share my quick thoughts on the products I got to try, and as always, provide a list of pros and cons so you can decide for yourself if this is something that works for your lifestyle.

Tomorrow Sleep Memory Foam Pillows, stacked.

Tomorrow Sleep Memory Foam Pillows are very cushy, yet firm.

Tomorrow Sleep Memory Foam Pillow ($99 for one) – This uniquely designed pillow conforms to the head and neck for maximum comfort, and responds to the body heat and pressure points to help keep your muscles relaxed. Made with CertiPUR-US® certified, hypoallergenic foam, it’s dense yet soft, and adjusts to your head shape for personalized support. The pillow is two-sided: one side with visible blue undertone is designed to stay cool throughout the night, while the other side [which is plain white], stays warm and cozy.

The pillow was a huge hit! Mr. Glamorable often feels hot when he sleeps, so the cooling side of the pillow helped keep his body temperature in check, or at least more balanced. As a result, he now twists and turns a lot less, which helps me sleep better too. I like the pillow because it helps relax my neck and shoulders, while still providing firm support for the head. I have no preference for the cool or the cozy side, and enjoy sleeping on either one.

You will LOVE it if:

• You like sleeping on your back.
• Your shoulders and neck tend to get tense while you sleep.
• You get too hot during the night.

You will HATE it if:

• You are a side sleeper. The pillow will still work great, but you will need to add another one underneath for height.
• You are on a budget. While these pillows are really high quality and are probably worth the price, if you are on a tight budget I personally think it makes the most sense to invest in the best mattress that you can comfortably afford, as it will improve your sleep quality the most.

Tomorrow Sleep Comforter is incredibly cozy!

Tomorrow Sleep Comforter ($195 for King) – Mr. Glamorable and I have been shopping for a new comforter for a while but didn’t really find the one we like, until this one came along. I’m not just saying this because we got it for free, we did actually try a number of comforters and none of them worked for us. Tomorrow Comforter is big, puffy, and very cozy; it’s like sleeping under a cloud. It’s filled with down alternative ThermoBall™ fill, which helps keep the comforter warm and breathable. The outer material is a 300 thread count percale weave that resists pilling, and feels crisp and airy. I like that it’s sized appropriately with sleepers in mind: the comforter is slightly larger than the standard measurements for the mattress. A King-sized comforter could easily accommodate three people without anyone rubbing shoulders to stay under the blanket.

You will LOVE it if:

• You are always cold at night. This comforter is very cozy.
• You are looking for a fluffy, oversized blanket that will be comfortable enough for 2 people.
• You avoid down and prefer high-tech alternatives instead.

You will HATE it if:

• You prefer to be cool at night and sleep under lighter blankets.
• You keep the room temperature above 70F at night. Ours is set to 66F and it’s juuust right.
• You are on a budget. Investing in a good mattress should be a higher priority, IMO.

The texture of Tomorrow Sleep Mattress Protector.

Tomorrow Sleep Mattress Protector ($95 for King) – We didn’t think about buying a mattress protector when we got our mattress, so we went a whole year without one. Considering how much Mr. Glamorable sweats throughout the night, I deeply regret that decision, haha! Tomorrow Mattress Protector fits our non-Tomorrow mattress like a glove, and it looks really nice, too. The protector is thin enough that we don’t even notice it’s there, and it’s waterproof, which provides protection from sweat, coffee spills, and pretty much any other liquids that can permanently ruin your mattress. It’s more than just a waterproof shield, though. The protector is made with Instacool™ material, which pulls extra heat away from the body and helps regulate body temperature throughout the night. It’s designed to work in tandem with Tomorrow Sleep Mattress that also provides temperature control.

You will LOVE it if:

• You love your mattress and want it to last as long as possible.

You will HATE it if:

• I honestly couldn’t think of any. Even the price is very reasonable.

I like the cool feel of Tomorrow Sleep Sheets.

… and so does everyone else in our house 🙂

Tomorrow Sleep Sheet Set ($160 for King/Cal. King) – This luxurious 500 thread count sheet set is made made of 100% USA grown Supima cotton. I am no sheet expert, so I won’t go into too much detail about the specifics of the cotton and the thread count, but these sheets feel like they would last a long time. After a month of weekly washes, there is no sign of pilling anywhere. The set comes with one flat sheet, two pillowcases, and a fitted sheet for the mattress. The fitted sheet is a little loose on our non-Tomorrow mattress, but everything else fits perfectly. I like that the flat sheet comes slightly oversized, so it matches the Tomorrow comforter of the appropriate size. One thing that was a bit surprising to both of us is that the sheets felt perhaps too crispy, almost a little papery? This makes them a bit loud, but we kind of got used to that already.

You will LOVE it if:

• You like the look and feel of crisp, white sheets.
• You love high quality, pill-resistant sheets that will last a long time and many washes.
• You like the cooling feel of the sheets.

You will HATE it if:

• You prefer sheets in fun colors. These only come in white.
• You don’t really care about the thread count.
• You don’t like when the sheets are loud.
• You are on a budget. While this set is not crazy expensive for a 500 thread count, it’s still more of an indulgence that does not drastically improve the sleep quality.

Tomorrow Sleep Sleeptracker® Monitor ($199 for 2 people) – I’ve tried a number of sleep tracking apps before, but none of them were ever this accurate. The system analyzes your sleep cycles, breathing rate, heart rate and movement, and offers personalized tips on how your sleep can be improved. Sleeptracker® Monitor comes with special sensors that go under the mattress, positioned where each sleeper’s pillow would be. The monitor is connected to your home WiFi, and sends over your sleep data wirelessly.

What I found the most helpful about this device is that it helps me track my sleep cycles. For example, on the days when I feel dizzy, sometimes it’s just my body missing out on a REM cycle [which I remedy by taking a nap]. I also like knowing how much uninterrupted sleep I got throughout the night, because the app filters out the time you spent awake reading in bed or all of those times when you get up to grab a drink. Somehow, it was able to detect those with scary accuracy, haha!

Sleeptracker® Monitor is more than just a sleep tracking device. It can wake you up with a selection of soothing alarm sounds during the perfect time in your sleep cycle to help you feel alert and refreshed. It also offers a selection of white noise sounds that can be set to play quietly throughout the night. For instance, I love to wake up to the sound of ocean waves. 🙂

You will LOVE it if:

• You live for data!
• You want to get detailed and accurate reports on the quality of your sleep.

You will HATE it if:

• You don’t really care about every detail of your sleep.
• You are on a budget.

You can try all Tomorrow Sleep products for 100 nights risk-free. If you don’t love them, just ship them back for a full refund. The company also has some financing options available on their website, in case you would rather pay in smaller monthly increments.

BOTTOM LINE:

I hope you enjoyed this overview of Tomorrow Sleep products! Our life is becoming more and more chaotic, so nowadays getting quality sleep is the ultimate luxury. Luckily, there are many products that can help maximize the benefits of sleep that include, but are not limited to, getting a new mattress and bedroom accessories. I also like to light up an aromatherapy candle or an essential oil diffuser with some lavender oil, to ease the mind and prepare myself for the night of restful slumber.

How do you relax and unwind after a long day? What do you like the most about your mattress? What products tend to improve your sleep quality the most? Let me know in the comments!