You might think your before-bed ritual is ensuring you take care of your skin and get a good night’s sleep. Unfortunately, this isn’t always the case. Some grooming habits are better left for morning, and doing them in the evening could impact your mood, energy levels, and overall health. Make your life easier by not doing these five grooming rituals before bed. You’ll thank yourself in the morning.
- Shaving
Although there’s nothing horrible about shaving at night, it means that when you wake up, you might be dealing with a little bit of stubble. If you’re a guy who likes to keep a soft, clean mug, then you’re better off getting up just a little bit earlier, splashing some cold water on your face to wake up (and thenusing warm water to moisten your face), and getting to it. Give yourself that extra time in the morning so you don’t shave in a panic and accidentally nick your neck.
2. Taking a hot shower
While taking a hot shower or bath might seem like the most relaxing thing you can do before bed to unwind, it may actually be hindering your sleep. When you shower before bed, it causes your core temperature to rise, inhibiting sleep. Your body temperature tends to drop in the evening, a mechanism which helps you sleep. So when you take that hot shower, you need time to cool off again before your body is at a proper temperature for a good night’s rest.
3. Washing your face with soap (or the wrong cleanser)
Washing your face with any old soap could be wreaking havoc on your skin. It could be irritating your skin and causing redness or worse — acne. Before choosing the right cleanser for your skin, figure out your skin type. Then, purchase the right cleanser accordingly. For example, if you find that you have sensitive skin you should use cleansers — not soaps — when washing. Gentle, non-foaming cleansers ideal for sensitive skin include Cerave, Dove, and Cetaphil. Another note: If you’re not washing your face in the evening, you’re going to sleep with gunk and dirt all over your face from the day. Plus, you’ll be transferring all that dirt onto your pillow.
4. Putting on the wrong moisturizer
Similar to washing your face with the wrong cleanser is putting the wrong moisturizer on your face. You can’t just slather on any old moisturizer and call it a night — you need the right one for your skin type. After washing your face, your goal for the evening when applying your moisturizer is to repair damage from the day’s pollution, sun, and stress, as well as hydrate since you lose water from your skin while you sleep, cosmetic dermatologist Dr. Doris Day told The Huffington Post. It’s important to also realize that daytime and nighttime moisturizers are different in that the former are lighter in consistency and often contain sunscreen. When it comes to nighttime moisturizers, they’re a little bit thicker and end up making your skin soft and supple while you sleep. Day suggests looking for an evening facial moisturizer with antioxidants, peptides, and vitamins C and A to help repair the “insults” from the day.
5. Brushing your teeth — without flossing:
Flossing is an essential part of taking care of your teeth and gums. Though the American Dental Association recommends flossing twice a day to remove plaque from the areas between your teeth — that you can’t reach with a toothbrush — flossing at night to remove all the food from your day is the best and easiest time to do it, so your mouth is clean while you sleep. It’s imperative that you start flossing (if you’re not already) because plaque that’s not removed from your teeth by your toothbrush can eventually harden into calculus or tartar, which is not a good look. Flossing also helps prevent gum disease and cavities.
Credit: Cheat Sheet
