Digital Editor Halima Ahad uncovers the calming influence of drinking lettuce water discussing its potential to enhance a better quality of sleep and create a radiant skin complexion
Sleep affects our overall appearance. ‘Beauty sleep’ has been a term that has been thrown around a lot in previous and current generations, but I have recently explored what the definition of it truly means. Aesthetic injector Akis Ntonos tells Vogue ‘Beauty sleep is very much a real thing’ he says ‘…since cells regenerate quicker at night-time.’
‘Beauty sleep is very much a real thing’, ‘…since cells regenerate quicker at night-time.’
A study in 2017 from Royal Society of Open Science explained how sleep negatively affects our appearance, by examining our hair and skin. For hair, inadequate sleep impacts the overall growth as the production of collagen is affected therefore making hair more prone to thinning and overall hair loss. Furthermore, a lack of sleep elevates more stress on the body than necessary which further leads to diminishing hair volume.
The study found that lack of sleep causes the blood vessels around your eyes to dilate to overall create dark circles, which is a downside to appearance in my opinion as it conveys fatigue and stress. It affects one’s overall appearance and self-esteem.
Depending on skin tone, dark circles can range from shades of blue, purple black or brown. However, by forming a night-time skincare routine before you sleep, you can greatly help impact your appearance positively. Vogue (through dermatologist Dr Lauren Penzi) tells its readers the benefits of forming this routine such as ‘It is important to remove all of the makeup, dirt, oil and debris that our skin is exposed to during the day.’
TikTok’s lettuce water trend has also taken the world by storm in helping those with sleep deprivation. According to research done by Healthline, drinking lettuce water can help you drift off to sleep faster and the trend has had over 1.5 million likes.
…drinking lettuce water can help you drift off to sleep faster
TikTok content creator Shapla Hoque explained how the hack works in her video, saying that by mixing a cup of lettuce, boiling water and peppermint and trying it herself, helped her to fall asleep in around thirty to forty minutes.
The property believed to have sedative effects in drinking the lettuce water is lactucarium, which has mild sedative properties promoting overall relaxation and help with sleeping. However, although the trend had ranging effects across numerous people who tried it out across TikTok, there are no medical benefits to it that help you to sleep. Although the property in lettuce water does have this, the sedative effects are too low to have any proper impact on helping you get a good night’s sleep.
Sas Parsad, founder of The Gut Co, tells Healthline that audiences of these trending TikTok hacks should proceed with caution as there is a lack of scientific evidence to truly support the impact lettuce water has on sleep and it is only based on the individual content creator’s experience when trying it out. He tells them that ‘While there’s some scientific support for the sedative properties of lactucarium, the amount present in a cup of lettuce water might be too small to impact sleep noticeably.’
Although there are minor sleep benefits to drinking lettuce water, it still has good overall health benefits and can be convenient for those who are looking to better their physical and mental well-being. ‘Drinking lettuce water can help aid digestion and maintain a healthy gut,’ Korina Burkhard (sleep expert) tells Healthline, ‘It can also provide vitamins A,C and K, folate, potassium and other minerals.’
Lettuce also has high antioxidant content which counters oxidative stress and inflammation in the body. Although drinking lettuce water can be a good addition to your bedtime routine, it should not be used as a means or solution to solve sleep issues.
Overall, the formation of a night-time skincare routine as well as the growing lettuce water trend could be great bonuses to getting a better night’s sleep as well as fixing your night-time sleeping habits. I will definitely try out the lettuce water trend myself to see if I notice any changes.
Read more from Life&Style here:
Becoming ‘That Girl’: Is TikTok’s Newest Trend Achievable?
Comments