What happens if one does not live in Sweden (known as the city that affords about 16 hours of daily leisure time) or Denmark (the country’s average working hours comes up to about 37 per week) and is not a four-legged marsupial (18 hours of sleep is the bare minimum)?

Chances are he is most likely overworked but refrains from spending rare out-of-office hours sleeping when there is alcohol to guzzle, games to catch up on and Netflix dramas to binge.

Adren How, founder of ONLY Aesthetics recommends sleeping as much as possible in one succinct pitch.

“Generally, sleep deprivation leads to the body releasing more cortisol — a stress hormone. Excessive amounts of cortisol can break down skin collagen, which causes skin ageing. Lack of sleep can also form lacklustre skin, fine lines and dark circles under the eyes.”

“I read that Singaporeans are among the highest sleep deprived population in the world.”

While one might think of a solution like slathering night creams before hitting the sheets before a cryogenic sleep chamber (if one does read up, the benefits of cryotherapy are really quite amazing) is available for purchase, How counters that sleep deprivation does not just make him look like an extra on the set of All Of Us Are Dead.

“Sleep is very important for our body’s recovery and repair process as it affects wound healing, collagen growth, hydration and texture. Inflammation is also higher in sleep-deprived patients and it causes acne outbreaks, eczema, psoriasis, and skin allergies.”

“Sleep deprivation can also be caused by factors like artificial light, shift work, sleep disturbances, and social life.”

—
The area to check if one had a poor night’s sleep is the eyes — the section of the face that swings between a young Johnny Depp and a Johnny Depp circa 2020 with just a few hours difference.

“When you don’t get enough sleep at night, your blood vessels dilate and this causes an increase in blood flow. Since the skin under your eyes is thinner, the dark tint caused by the increased volume of blood becomes more noticeable here,” says Adren How.

Again, slapping on eye cream, serum, moisturiser or an entire cabinet of skincare products only goes so far. Sleep deprivation does not just start and end with one’s looks — it extends to the outside. Namely, the personality.

How adds, “Sleep deprivation might cause moodiness, a bad breakout or an inability to focus when speaking — these are just some clues we look out for when diagnosing patients. If they have these signs, we might ask them if they are facing some kind of stress at work or if they’re not sleeping well.”

“Sleep is generally assumed to be conducive for healing. Evidence that point to the importance of sleep include observations that protein synthesis, cell division and growth hormone release are increased during sleep,” adds Adren How. In short, this might be why the term “beauty sleep” is promoted by Western and Eastern mothers.

“We can have the best technologies in the world to treat the skin but if one sleeps poorly or has a sleeping disorder, it’s not going to help.”

Enter ONLY Aesthetics’ Whole Body Cryotherapy (WBC) — a treatment that relaxes, diffuses inflammation and pain, and helps one sleep better.

—
“WBC can also benefit your sleep patterns (besides adopting a wind down routine prior to bed or incorporating healthy lifestyle habits) because it creates positive hormone responses in your body. It exposes your body to extremely cold temperatures for a short period of time to increase the production of norepinephrine — a hormone that affects your sleep-wake cycle and the activation of REM sleep.”

“The release of endorphins may also result in an energy boost followed by a state of relaxation. Filtered, oxygen-rich blood flows back through your body which may help to bring down inflammation and reduce pain. These responses can work together to help you fall asleep and access deeper levels of REM sleep which helps you stay asleep longer.”

“We at ONLY Aesthetics are the first and only providers of nitrogen-free cryotherapy which has helped thousands of customers who suffer from sleep deprivation by improving their sleep and insomnia issues. The treatment is for everyone but of course, we will also need to check the health of the customer and also, make sure they are not allergic to the cold.”

However, if one does not cope well with the cold and thus, is unable to enjoy the benefits of cryotherapy, it is advised that one stops sleeping on his sweat-inducing memory foam mattress with stifling bed sheets — try turning the air conditioner down to a comfortable 21 degrees celsius.

This is advice from the good scientists of Harvard after all. If not, the Men’s Folio method is to keep one foot outside the covers.

This story profiling Adren How of ONLY Aesthetics and the benefits of cryotherapy first appeared in our October 2020 issue.