How to Combat Lockdown Stress for Better Sleep (And Skin)

The lockdown stress is real. I’m sure I speak for a lot of us when I say that staying holed up indoors all day, with only long walks to distract me has gotten old.

Even though things feel slow, though, the sense of uncertainty permeates every moment. Will we be able to see friends soon? Will work return to normal? With everything on pause and nothing to distract us, our anxieties can easily surface. As if going through a pandemic wasn’t stressful enough, we now have ample time to remember every little thing that worries us.

For me, this has resulted in more than a few sleepless nights. There have been nights where I’ve found myself tossing and turning, counting down the ever-decreasing amount of sleep I’d get. Of course, the pain of not being able to sleep only feeds the anxious cycle keeping me awake in the first place. And on and on it goes.

As if the lack of sleep itself isn’t bad enough, the byproduct of my restlessness is appearing in my skin. Given the way the human body works, it makes sense. Australia’s leading sleep expert, Olivia Arezzolo explains: “Sleep is vital for good skin health, with 70% of the human growth hormone (a catalyst for collagen production), produced in slow-wave, deep sleep. Your skin begins to appear a little lacklustre and lifeless when deprived of a good night’s rest, not to mention the effects on your mental health.”

Nobody wants that. But what can we do to encourage a better night’s sleep — and thus, better skin?

The answers seem obvious, but even tiny habits can make a big difference in the long run. By making small changes in your day-to-day activities and establishing a nighttime ritual, you can help guide yourself into better rest when night time comes.

What to Do During The Day

One major factor to getting decent sleep, and perhaps a difficult one to achieve right now, is spending time outdoors. According to Preventative Medicine, spending more time outside during the day can result in a higher quality of sleep at night. Of course, getting enough time outside is more difficult than usual right now, but making sure you do daily walks can be a good way to encourage better sleeping patterns.

Another daily habit you can implement to help improve your quality of sleep at night is to limit the amount of caffeine you drink daily. Britannica breaks it down, explaining that “Caffeine seeks out specific adenosine receptors and mimics adenosine’s effects, in essence tricking the body into thinking sleep time is a long way off.” Even if you drink your coffee in the morning, “the effects last about five or six hours.” If you’re an avid coffee drinker, try your best to limit yourself to three to four cups per day, and make sure you have your last one no later than mid-afternoon.

Creating a Bedtime Ritual

Especially when working from home, giving yourself time to disconnect can make a huge difference. Not only can blue light from devices mess with your sleep cycle, but notifications and other stressful content can heighten your anxiety. Not what you want right before bed. Try to put a time limit on technology, and stick to it. A few ways to practice this include:

Turning your phone off at a certain time every evening
Keeping your phone outside the bedroom to avoid the temptation of scrolling at night
Winding down with a book, rather than a television show
Avoiding stress-inducing content like the news or work emails before bed

Adjusting your environment can also support better sleep. Try dimming the lights a few hours before you want to doze off. This will signal to your body that sleep is coming soon and help you wind down. You can also diffuse natural essential oils like lavender, which encourage calmness.

Finally, a nightly self-care routine can play a huge part in helping you drift off. Take a shower, do a face mask, gather your crystals and just give yourself the space to chill out. Showering can make your core body temperature drop, which induces the production of melatonin, a hormone that regulates your sleep cycle. Practising a skincare routine afterwards can also help you relax by taking your mind off anxiety-inducing topics. Crystals like rose quartz are believed to harmonize energy, making rose quartz face rollers, or bedside crystals a nice addition.

Our Favourite Self-Care Sleep Kit

If you need extra help getting those z’s, the good news is that there are plenty of ways to get the ball rolling. Whether you invest in some sleep drops to take before bed, sleepytime tea, or a meditation app, setting the intention to sleep well and creating a routine around it is essential.

Our favourite recent sleep-well kit is the Sleeping Beauty Bundle from Edible Beauty. The kit comes with a purifying face mask and crystal eye mask to ease you off to sleep, all while helping your skin in the process. The eye mask, made of over 150 rose quartz crystals, removes eye puffiness while exuding calm and loving energy. Meanwhile, the purifying clay face mask replenishes your skin while you sleep.

What makes this bundle truly magical is the dual purpose it serves. Not only does Edible Beauty’s kit help establish a soothing night-time routine, but the routine is also one that benefits your skin. The benefits will be twofold: enough sleep equals better skin, and the high-quality products included will only help it further.

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