Anti-aging skin care is a process, a lifestyle decision. So, how important is sleep for your daily anti-aging regimen?

Sleep is beneficial to the body and for the skin in many respects. Your body produces melatonin while you sleep which is claimed to be an anti-aging hormone. It’s great for the skin and the immune system. In the day, and when it’s light, you lose melatonin; conversely in the night and in the dark, you gain melatonin.

Whilst in the deep sleep phase, your body produces a growth hormone, which helps repair damaged cells. A good night’s sleep reduces stress which has a positive impact on the skin. Stress causes the skin to wrinkle, loose its collagen and elasticity levels faster, and produces cortisol(which is a stress hormone) and bad neurotransmitters. You’ve probably seen many people age before their time and wear permanent frown lines on their foreheads, due to stress.

To get your "beauty sleep" and to stay looking young, try going to bed the same time every night so that the body can adjust to a daily sleep routine and synchronize its internal clock. You should optimally obtain eight hours sleep every night to get the proper rest you require to allow the body to conduct its repair process. This golden rule is applicable to young and old. It’s a fallacy that older people need less sleep; in fact more sleep is necessary to produce more of the growth hormone and melatonin which keeps senior people looking younger for longer.

To get a good night’s sleep for increased longevity, and to aid anti-aging skin care, the following should be observed:

• Avoid ingesting sugar, sweets, alcohol and caffeine before retiring for the night.

• Be calm before sleeping; try to empty your mind from the clutter of the day, otherwise you might experience difficulty in falling asleep.

• Exercise regularly (this produces endorphins and will make you feel tired later) and get plenty of fresh air during the day.

• Try and take one power nap for not longer than 15 to 30 minutes during the day; longer than this will interfere with your sleep pattern in the night and disrupt your "body clock".

• Enjoy a nice relaxing bath with scented bath oils in the evening. This will put you in a good, calm frame of mind before sleeping.

• Ensure that your bedroom environment is conducive to sleep and has proper ventilation.

Serotonin is the "feel good hormone" in our brains that begins the sleep cycle. As mentioned earlier, once asleep, the body then produces melatonin, and the growth hormone, and later on in the sleep process the sex hormones are produced, balanced and harmonized.

Sleep is the regenerative process for the body, aids digestion, stills and regulates the heart, brain, and circulatory system. The brain downloads and processes the information and events from the day. By not sleeping enough, this disrupts this cycle, which can leads to illness, susceptibility to disease and premature aging.

As an anti-aging skin care necessity, sleep’s main advantage to the skin is aiding in reduced stress levels, cell re-growth, hormone production and regulation, and a more relaxed dispensation. Obtaining proper sleep is important for looking younger than your years and enjoying a longer life.