The Importance of Post Surgery Sleep
People often joke about resting their eyes or taking a beauty sleep! Nonetheless, there is a big element of truth in those statements.
Sleep is essential – It is as important to our bodies as eating, drinking and breathing, and is vital for maintaining good mental and physical health. Sleep plays a vital role in good health and well-being throughout your life. Getting enough quality sleep at the right times can help protect your mental health, physical health, quality of life, and safety. … During sleep, your body is working to support healthy brain function and maintain your physical health. You may be unconscious, but while you’re asleep, your body goes into healing and recovery mode.
In many respects, sleep acts as a permissive state in which the body’s tissues and systems can heal from a day’s worth of work. In the case of surgery, there’s more work for the body to do than normal, which means you need to take extra care to get adequate post surgery sleep. The majority of us do not work in physical professions or feel physically tired after our daily work hence allowing our muscles to slowly recover over time. However, the majority of the work of rebuilding and repairing takes place during sleep. In addition, we all release a hormone called GH (Human Growth hormone) during stage III of sleeping which can in turn mean that a delayed or shortened sleep cycle and pattern of doing so can interfere with this process and lower the overall amount of GH released.
It is also well known – as mentioned at the beginning of our blog – that Beauty sleep is often questioned or discussed a s a bit of a myth. Well science, has now put all that to bed. Sleep is when some of the most important internal — and epidermal — recovery takes place! A study conducted by Estee Lauder at CWRU (Case Western Reserve University) identified that sleep quality has a major impact on the skin’s ability to heal from daily damage. In the study, those who got less sleep recovered slower (and not fully) from environmental “stressors” and UV rays in comparison to those who got eight hours of sleep or more. Poor sleepers also had more visible signs of aging as it is widely accepted that our skin needs time to heal just as the muscles do, and that requires sleep.
We are obviously not advising that anyone should abandon their daytime skin care routine in favour of getting more sleep but do make sure you are well rested daily as that could also have an impact on your skin in the short and long term. As an average – or a rule of thumb if you wish – an adult requires a minimum of 7 to 9 hours of sleep on a daily basis to ensure their body is fully recovering and healing on a consistent basis.
How to Get More sleep after Plastic Surgery
Surgery and most plastic surgery treatments can create some sleep barriers due to soreness and comfort issues most commonly. It is a question we are often asked at the clinic as aftercare is an important part of our treatments and process of providing our services.
So, let’s have a look at a few useful tips to help your post surgery sleep.
Create your ideal bedroom conditions. Being organised and clean is important to your sleep as well as finding the ideal conditions for yourself. A bedroom that’s completely dark and ideally clutter-free is a good way to start as it has been proven that artificial can suppress sleep hormones and clutter can trigger anxiety. Noise and sounds are also an issue if you are one that chooses to sleep in complete peace. A white noise machine is always an option if required.
Support your body in recovery. Supporting your body shape and position whilst sleeping is key. The right support keeps your spine aligned and can prevent pressure on sore areas especially after surgery. Make sure to choose a mattress that supports your weight and is designed for your unique sleep style. If you also feel like you need some extra support, use some pillows for a few days or weeks to prop up or reduce pressure on the surgery site.
Make time for sleep. Make sure you give yourself a minimum of 6 to 7 hours of good sleep daily. You may be more tired than usual so factor that into your bedtime. Ideally go to bed as early as possible and do take naps if you feel they help your energy levels throughout the day. Take care and pamper yourself post-surgery so you’re body can focus on healing rather than other things.
Address pain and any after-surgery symptoms. Most importantly of all, be sure to follow your doctor’s orders when it comes to taking your pain medication. Take it on time so that you’re not left with a gap where you’re trying to catch up on pain relief. If your pain medication will wear off during the night, have pills and water on your nightstand ready to go so you don’t even have to leave the bed. You may also try ice packs or a heating pad before bed to reduce swelling and promote circulation.
Sleep – and sleeping well – is one of the most important functions in your life. So always make sure, you get yourself a good rest and allow your body and mind to heal, recover and rejuvenate itself daily.
We’d love to hear your view so do not hesitate to contact us, click here to arrange a consultation with Dr Ahmad, send us an email at Nikki@CambridgeClearBeauty.co.uk or Follow our social media channels below on Facebook,Twitter and Instagram.
