A perfect night’s sleep seems almost impossible, but if one does hold the key to such a thing, it would be Elle Macpherson, a woman who made her name off her legendary beauty and one who knows better than anyone the value of a good night’s shut eye.
There are of course the lack of worries that come with having job security, a net worth of €90m and what is generally regarded as a happy personal life, as well as environmental factors like smoking and drinking (neither of which she does) and the daily yoga and pilates sessions that would settle even the busiest of minds; and Elle’s is as complex as you would expect.
In her column for Get The Gloss, she divulged the secrets to her solid seven hour nightly sleeps, which she also credits to her youthful appearance. “I learned from my nutritional doctor Dr Simone Laubscher PhD, that the outer or top layer of our skin comprises tightly-packed dead skin cells which are constantly shed throughout the day,” she wrote. “During deep sleep, the skin’s metabolic rate speeds up, which helps with repair. Whether it’s damage from factors such as ultraviolet rays or internal toxic overload from too many late nights, we really do need our “beauty sleep”.”
Are you up to the task?
(1). Her first golden rule is spending time outdoors, getting fresh air into your lungs, followed by (2). daily visits to her personal “infrared Therasage sauna”, which helps soothe any aches, pains or irregularities in her body.
(3). It goes without saying that much of her lifestyle is focused on her diet and she finishes her last meal before 6pm every night to ensure her digestive system is in check and prefers intermittent fasting – leaving a long period of time between dinner and a late breakfast. Then come the sprays. She first (4). mists her pillows with a lavender scent, a natural sleep aide, and (5). sips some Welleco Sleep Well Calming tea and spritz my pillows with Sleep Welle Calming Mist.
Finally, she relies on her yoga skills if she’s still feeling restless. (6). “If I still have trouble calming my mind, I lie on my back, place my feet up the wall, and stretch my arms (like the yoga pose viparita karani – ‘legs up the wall’ pose.). It has an immediate meditative effect on me. All I need is five minutes like that and I’m calm and ready for sleep,” she wrote.