Why does the change of season ruin your sleep? We asked the experts
With the change of season, it seems, everything changes. The skin changes, mysterious breakouts arrive, hair falls out and even sleep becomes distant. This topic is particularly close to our heart today. Let's think about how to improve it in quantity and quality, about how to be more and more rested while, instead, we are increasingly tired. We do endless morning and night routines, and we're even willing to use it for beauty treatments that work while we sleep, or perhaps instead of sleep itself. And the loop starts again. To clarify our ideas, we interviewed Sara Lonigro and Francesco Donnarumma, founders of GN Glowy Nights, a brand dedicated to the creation of products in pure mulberry silk of the highest quality. “Our project stems from a simple idea,” they told us. “Give new value to the hours we dedicate to sleep, transforming a daily and often taken for granted gesture such as a night's sleep into a real moment of well-being and self-care.”
Interview with Sara Lonigro and Francesco Donnarumma on sleep and season change
Is there a link between season change and sleep quality? Which one?
Yes, there is a link. One of the main factors is the change in daylight hours that accompanies the transition from one season to another. When the days get shorter or longer, our exposure to natural light also changes. Seasonal variations in the light-dark cycle can influence the synchronization of the circadian rhythm and the secretion profile of melatonin, a hormone closely linked to the regulation of the sleep-wake cycle. During periods of transition, some people may experience changes in their usual rhythms, with greater tiredness during the day, difficulty falling asleep, or more fragmented sleep. Another important element during the change of season is the adaptation to the new temperatures. Our body is faced with thermal conditions different from those of previous weeks, with possible repercussions on night comfort. Finally, the microclimate that is created between the body and the bed also plays a role. The characteristics of the materials with which we sleep - such as breathability and ability to manage humidity - can influence the temperature and humidity that develop in contact with the body and, consequently, our feeling of thermal comfort during the night.
What are the most common mistakes we make in the evening when trying to compensate for tiredness or stress?
One of the most common mistakes is trying to compensate for tiredness or stress by adding other stimuli to our day. After hours spent between work, commitments and notifications, we try to “disconnect” by watching a series, spending more time on the smartphone, eating late or treating ourselves to a glass of alcohol thinking that it could help us relax. The paradox is that, just when our body needs to slow down, we continue to keep it active. Another mistake is thinking that it is enough to go to bed to be automatically ready to sleep. Sleep, on the other hand, should be preceded by a real phase of transition, in which we gradually begin to reduce stimuli and leave room for quiet. This is why we strongly believe in the value of an evening ritual: not simply a series of habits to follow, but a moment that we consciously choose to dedicate to ourselves. We should learn to create the conditions that allow us to let ourselves go to rest naturally. Sometimes the best way to compensate for a busy day is not to add something in the evening, but to start taking away.
What is the ideal 'sleep routine' to help the body adapt to the change of season?
During the change of season, a good sleep routine can help your body gradually regain new balance. The idea is to keep some fixed points, adapting others to the new season, and to progressively accompany the body from day to rest. With the change of season, our eating habits also tend to change: let's think about the transition from summer to autumn, when we often return to richer and warmer dinners, or to spring, when longer days can lead us to delay hours. Maintaining a certain regularity and avoiding demanding digestion precisely during the hours dedicated to sleep means not adding another element of disturbance in a phase in which our body is already adapting to new rhythms. Caffeine and alcohol also deserve attention in the evening hours. An hour or two before going to bed, a real transition phase can begin. A hot shower or bath is particularly interesting when temperatures change: heat promotes the flow of blood to the surface and extremities of the body and the subsequent dispersion of heat, accompanying the natural lowering of the internal temperature that precedes sleep. Skincare, a small massage or other caring gestures can complete this moment. In the last hour, the stimuli can gradually give way to quieter activities: reading, listening to music, drinking an herbal tea. This becomes especially important during periods of seasonal transition. Voluntarily creating a slowdown helps keep the line between activity and rest recognizable, regardless of what happens outside the window. Shortly before bedtime, it is instead the environment that must follow the new season. A dark, quiet and sufficiently cool room, together with a comfortable mattress and pillow, forms the basis; but the change of season is also the time to review sheets, pillowcases, blankets and pajamas. Finally, regularity is probably the most important fixed point. Our sleep-wake rhythm is also influenced by the alternation between light and dark and the change of season progressively modifies this very signal. Trying to keep the times at which we go to bed and wake up fairly constant gives the body a stable reference as the external environment changes.
How many hours should we really sleep at different stages of life? Are the famous '8 hours' a rule valid for everyone or a myth?
The need for sleep changes over the course of life and is particularly high during childhood and adolescence, and then decreases and stabilizes progressively in adulthood. For adults, the American Academy of Sleep Medicine, on the other hand, indicates at least 7 hours of regular sleep to promote optimal health. As we age, the requirement may change again: the CDC, for example, indicates 7-9 hours between the ages of 61 and 64 and 7-8 hours from the age of 65 onwards. These numbers should be interpreted as references, not as an identical goal for each person. Two people may have slightly different needs even though they are in the same phase of life. And this is precisely where an equally important aspect comes into play: the quality of sleep. It doesn't just matter how long we sleep, but also how we sleep. Continuous and undisturbed sleep allows us to go through the different phases that make up the sleep cycles more regularly, while frequent awakenings can fragment our rest and make us feel less recovered even after many hours spent in bed. Rather than contrasting quality and quantity, therefore, we should consider them together: sleeping a number of hours appropriate to one's age, but making sure that those hours are, as far as possible, truly restful.
What's the worst piece of advice given when it comes to sleep?
One of the worst tips, or perhaps one of the most common beliefs, is that you can sleep little during the week and then recover everything on the weekend. In reality, our body doesn't work exactly like that. Sleeping longer after a period of deprivation can certainly make us feel better and allow us to recover at least part of the lost sleep, but it does not necessarily mean completely erasing the effects of several nights of insufficient rest. This does not mean that, after a particularly busy week, it is wrong to give yourself a few more hours of sleep. The problem arises when recovery becomes a regular strategy. The advice would therefore be almost the opposite: do not wait until the weekend to return to sleep the time we took from him during the week.
How does the quality of sleep affect facial skin health? What about dark circles under the eyes?
The quality of sleep can be reflected on the skin much more than we imagine. Insufficient or poor quality sleep has been associated, for example, with greater water loss through the skin, lower hydration and a reduced ability of the skin barrier to recover after stress. Other studies have observed changes in elasticity, luminosity, and even wrinkles and fine lines. It's interesting because it means that that feeling of seeing more tired skin after a few difficult nights is not just our impression. But when we talk about skin and sleep, there is another aspect that, in our opinion, is still considered too little: what we rest our face on for all those hours. If we spend about a third of our day in bed, the fabric of the pillowcase stays in contact with the skin of the face for a very long time. For this reason, the quality and characteristics of the material are not a secondary detail. During the night, the skin should be in contact with a fabric that respects its needs: delicate, dermocompatible, breathable and capable of managing moisture properly, while limiting unnecessary friction and chafing. The point is not to think that a fabric can regenerate the skin. The skin already has its own natural physiological processes of maintenance and renewal. However, we can pay attention to the environment in which these processes take place. This is perhaps the most complete meaning of beauty sleep: not only to sleep a sufficient number of hours, but to create the most respectful conditions possible around the skin during all those hours.
