Dr. Dean Kane explains the importance of beauty sleep!

Today’s continuous and compelling need for activity to get ahead or just tread water is tiring!  It is even making you sick and aging you. Without the ability to “settle down”, the constant agitation in our lives produces stress in ways we can see and feel. In general, our bodies are immediately responsive to our environment. What we see, hear, touch, eat and think effects our metabolism within nanoseconds. The overwhelming stimulation of our senses keeps us in high gear without rest. We remain anxious, have palpitations, can’t rest or sleep, we eat or not, sit or race around but we don’t feel harmonious with our environment. The barrage of agitation will increase your pulse and blood pressure creating hardening of our vessels, reduced blood flow to our skin. Constant stimulation responds with increases in some hormones like hydrocortisone which over time thins the skin and stimulates hunger. Menstrual cycles go out of whack creating highs and lows of estrogen which affects the skin texture, color and turn-over. Overeating stretches the skin and in many ways creates under-nutrition. Under-eating creates malnutrition and thinning, laxed tissues. Chronic allergies swell tissues causing thinning and bruisability. Lack of sunlight directly affect our skin and vitamin D production of calcium metabolism and bone health. Sleep deprivation contributes to loss of skin elasticity and cell turnover caused by inflammation and dehydration. Healing and recovery are prolonged while the body “fights” the stress “war”. Our skin ages through several processes. Lack of anti-oxidation allows the UV and weathering to more rapidly breakdown skin repair, reduces anti-inflammation in the skin and physically produces laxity, lines and wrinkles, thinning, sallowness or pale of color, blemishes and bruising. As compared to a “well-cared for” individual, circulation, nutrition, elasticity, sponginess and repair are diminished. Obvious examples include: swollen or puffy, tired and darkened eyelids, hooding of the eyebrows, folds of the upper and naso-labial cheek, jowling and marionette folding, turned down lip corners, neck looseness, uneven pigmentation of the face and hands, thinning of the skin with little red spider veins and hemangiomas, larger pores and adult acne,. Humans have the best ability to combat such stress. It comes in the forms of a anti-oxidation, stress hormone responses and a circadian or daily rhythm which starts in our brains. Believe-it-or-not, the most powerful of our anti-oxidants is the same hormone that puts us to sleep. Entrainment or the study of chronobilogy occurs when rhythmic physiological or behavioral events match their period and phase to that of the environment’s swing. A common example of entrainment is the circadian rhythm of the daily light–dark cycle determined by the Earth’s rotation. Sleep is stimulated in our brain several hours after dusk when the eyes receive lack of light. This stimulates the pineal gland in the brain to release melatonin, a powerful inducer of sleep, appetite suppression, normalizing hormones and brain and body repair. Most Americans receive less than the average 7-7.5 hours of needed sleep and suffer the consequences in hastened aging. So, if skin care, botox / dysport and injectible fillers still disappoint, try the body’s own remedy for beauty, health and longevity, SLEEP! Call 410-602-3322 or email Lauri@DrDeanKane.com to schedule a consultation with Dr. Dean Kane! The Center for Cosmetic Surgery and Medspa, Baltimore Maryland 21208