The holidays are behind us. We're slowly returning to our everyday lives. Home, work, school, kids, rushing, hurrying, stress, stress, stress... We might say - nothing scary, it's the rhythm we're used to. However, in the first days after New Year's, it's somehow particularly difficult to get going. The body is sluggish, the organism is slow, and we struggle with a deep sense of fatigue... Nothing unusual. After the holiday cheer and late-night gatherings, what we need for recovery is a long, restorative sleep.

Holidays are regularly accompanied by a lack of sleep, and the pre-holiday stress level is extremely high, despite eagerly welcoming the Christmas and New Year period... That's precisely why the World Sleep/Sleeping Festival is created, observed every year on this day, January 3rd. It's dedicated to raising awareness about the importance of quality sleep and the joys and pleasures of relaxation. Did you know all that? Perhaps you didn't, but on the occasion of this year's Sleep Festival, we remind you of some important facts about sleep and bring you nine tips to help you relax more easily, fall asleep, and experience the joy of sleep. With the New Year, introduce new routines in all areas of life where you struggle with specific problems. Sleep, or healthy sleep, is something you must not overlook.

INSOMNIA TROUBLES TWO-THIRDS OF HUMANITY

You've surely heard many times someone complaining about insomnia and asking for advice on how to solve this health problem that disrupts the quality of life. The extent of insomnia is illustrated by the World Health Organization's estimate that two-thirds of adults worldwide have some kind of sleep problem. Doctors recommend eight hours of sleep because that's the time needed to reset and revitalize the body after daily turbulence. However, the modern and extremely fast-paced way of life sets its own rules, and the desirable, recommended quota of daily rest has become an impossible mission for a huge number of people. Lack of sleep has become a global reality. Insomnia also affects the world economy, and according to economic indicators, the global economy loses a trillion dollars annually due to problems related to lack of sleep. The Sleep Festival, as a day dedicated to raising awareness of this problem, is an opportunity to pause, reflect on whether we know how to relax, identify our own disruptors of healthy sleep, link sleep problems to general health conditions and business results, and of course, make an action plan to reduce or completely solve the problem.

SLEEP PROTECTS AGAINST DISEASE AND EXTENDS LIFE

There are unequivocal data indicating that sleep disorders contribute to cardiovascular, metabolic, inflammatory, and mental illnesses, weaken immunity, making the body vulnerable to inflammation and infections. Furthermore, healthy sleep is the most effective anti-aging treatment, and the benefits of so-called beauty sleep have been scientifically confirmed. Lack of sleep reduces skin circulation and leads to long-term collagen and elastin deficiency. All this contributes to skin aging and deepening wrinkles, especially on the forehead, around the eyes, and around the lips. When we are stressed, our nervous system releases stress hormones such as adrenaline and cortisol, making facial skin more sensitive and reactive, causing irritation, redness, clogged pores, pimples, blackheads, and acne.

Therefore, healthy sleep is necessary for the health of our skin for at least three reasons. Namely, lack of sleep causes:

1. increased skin sensitivity
2. appearance of wrinkles and accelerated skin aging
3. reduction in skin hydration

Sleep specialists also emphasize that the deep sleep phase releases growth hormone which in adults contributes to maintaining muscle mass and bone strength. People who have shallow and poor sleep due to sleep disturbances lose muscle tissue and are particularly prone to osteoporosis or bone fragility.

9 TIPS FOR HEALTHY AND RENEWING SLEEP

1. Establish a sleep routine. The body benefits from an established sleep routine, which primarily involves trying to go to bed at roughly the same time. If we go to bed and wake up at about the same time, we are much more likely to have a restful night and more energy the next day because our batteries will be fully charged.

2. Create a comfortable sleeping environment. Let your bedroom be an oasis of peace and comfort, a safe place where you can completely relax. Experts recommend sleeping in a quiet, cool, and dark room where you will be warmed by a warm blanket, which will also create the impression that you have fallen into a hug. Enhance your space with a diffuser that will maintain air moisture.

3. Avoid electronics before bedtime. You might think that you can't do without your smartphone even in the bedroom, where you'll take one last look at social media before bed. Of course, you're wrong. Light and sound distractions like a buzzing and glowing TV all night, digital clocks, and cell phone screens are the most common disruptors of healthy sleep.

4. Calm your mind and body with essential oils. Winter Fairytale - essential oil with orange, spruce, lemon, and grapefruit from the rich palette of Nikel products will help you relax and immerse yourself in refreshing sleep. A hundred percent natural oil composed of a lovely composition of essences of orange, lemon, grapefruit, and pine needles, with just a few drops, will enchant your senses and provide complete relaxation. If you put a few precious drops of this oil in a diffuser or on a paper tissue, relaxation will be guaranteed.

5. Meditation and deep focused breathing before bed. We've all experienced the benefits of deep breaths, which provide us with extra oxygen and calm stress and anxiety. Let your bedtime routine also include a short meditation to calm chaotic thoughts and relax the mind.

6. Reduce anxiety with massage. Gentle massage of body parts, such as feet or neck, relaxes muscles and stimulates the secretion of endorphins, effectively preparing the body for rest. Massage your feet before bed with the Heel and Foot Repair Balm. Use gentle, circular movements to stimulate circulation. In this gentle evening massage, Silky Body Oil - oil for care and massage will help you. It is fast-absorbing, highly effective oil with powerful plant ingredients for intensive hydration, care, firmness, smoothness, and skin protection. It consists of cold-pressed almond and jojoba seed oils, rich in vitamin E, orange and rosemary essences.

7. Body hydration ensures good sleep. When the skin is not adequately hydrated, it can itch and tighten, and the least we need before bed is the feeling that we are sleeping in an uncomfortable armor that irritates us. Therefore, make sure your skin is not thirsty, and light body lotions or oils will provide moisture to the skin and comfort and relaxation to you. Reach for the Royal Body Milk with royal jelly from Nikel's health and beauty basket. It will provide you with intensive care, and just as royal jelly energizes the body when we take it as food when we are tired, so this body milk with royal jelly energizes tired skin, gives it elasticity and tone, and protects against premature aging.

8. Avoid heavy meals and caffeine late at night. We all know that feeling when we lie down with a stone in our stomach. The cause is heavy and greasy food, which burdens the digestive system when the body should be relaxed. It's similar with late-night coffee drinking, except that it affects brain alertness, which instead of calming down suddenly starts racing... So don't forget to provide your body and mind with lightness through food and drink.

9. Exercise during the day. Don't forget how important physical activity is for overall health, and therefore for healthy sleep. Start your morning with stretching, stretch during the day, walk, take the stairs instead of the elevator...

Today's World Sleep Festival is an opportunity to treat yourself. If you don't have a day off to spend it in pajamas, create a relaxing atmosphere in the evening. Your body and mind will thank you...