Beauty Sleep

When it comes down to it, grooming should be the sum of everything that makes us feel, look and experience.

Once upon a time there was a man named, Steve.  Steve is in his mid-twenties and works in a fast pace and demanding industry.  Steve is dedicated and hard working.  While his co-workers leave work on time, Steve usually stays till 11PM, 12AM, and at times well past 1AM.  “That’s no big deal.  I love what I do and I am still young!”, says Steve.  So the cycle went on, beginning his day around 8AM and into the late hours of the night...  Steve is an avid follower of ManPossible and he is doing his best to be a well groomed man.  But, let us observe and see how insufficient sleep affects Steve’s psychological well-being and his overall appearance.

Working 14 hour days and only getting 3 to 4 hours of sleep a night, Steve spends his weekend sleeping until 3PM in the afternoon.  This would give him enough energy to push him into the next work week.  This cycle went on for a few months.  One night while alone in the office working, Steve asked himself, “What am I doing?  What is this all for?”.  Steve no longer exhibited his energetic and youthful appearance.  As a matter of fact, Steve has been so tired he’s resorted to shaving once a week and the only other prep work he did in terms of grooming was to shower every morning before heading out for work. 

So, who is Steve?  The answer is quite simple.  Steve, of course, is a fictional character.  But his work / life / grooming habits embody what a lot of us do.  Whether you are a workaholic like Steve or a night crawler that stays up and party, the fact of the matter is…  A lack of sleep is harmful to our body and for GROOMING.

Why is sleep so important for grooming?  A recently featured article in Time Magazine titled, “The Power of Sleep” by Alice Park, provided a more in-depth understanding of the correlation between proper sleep and our overall well-being.  The article states that, “Nearly 40% of adults have nodded off unintentionally during the day in the past month, and 5% have done so while driving.”  The study suggested that sleep isn’t a way in which our body shuts down to rest.  Instead, once the lights go out, your body calls in the graveyard crew to perform the following important tasks:

· Bone – Wear and tear is remedied with intensified bone building

· Muscles – Repairing muscle tears or injuries happens during sleep

· Pancreas – Without sleep we become less able to break down sugar from our diet

· Skin – Beauty rest is when cells churn out growth factors to repair damage and maintain elasticity

· Brain – The cells shrink, squeezing out debris from a busy day

Your body on sleep: During the day, the body is more focused on getting things done than taking care of itself.  That changes when we sleep, as more energy is devoted to repairing cells, churning out helpful proteins and more.  This of course, impacts your “looks and appearance”.

So why are we telling you this, and how does this relate to grooming you ask?  The answer can’t be any simpler.  Grooming as we discussed in our previous articles, shouldn’t be just about the products we use or the way we look.  When it comes down to it, grooming should be the sum of everything that makes us feel, look and experience.  Knowing what we want to feel and how we want to be perceived are all important factors.

For those interested in learning more about sleep you can find the reference article here.

As we open our arms to embrace Fall, and prep for that Fall look, be sure to have sleep on top of your grooming list!

by ManPossible

Photos used under Creative Commons from epSos .de, Dean Strelau, chedderfish