Are you looking for a way to fight insomnia? Are you filled with anxiety, and can’t sleep? If you are looking for a cure to end those aggravating sleepless nights, give your Facial Steamer a try.

We’ve all been there – tossing and turning, trying our hardest to fall asleep. The more you try, the harder it gets. You look at your phone, or the clock, and you re-calculate how much sleep you can still get if you fall asleep now.

An hour later, you’re back on your phone, still awake – and alert!

If you’re the anxious type, you are very familiar with this pattern. The slightest bit of stress keeps you up. Maybe you have something important planned for the next day, or maybe you need to wake up earlier than normal. The worries swirl in your head, and the anxiety gets the better of you. Pretty soon you’re on your phone googling “how to fall asleep”. The internet will tell you to calm down, breath slower, sleep in a cool bed, etc. – if only it was that easy.

Before we get into a scientific explanation of why it works, let’s look at the general causes of insomnia, and how they attribute to keeping you up. Keep in mind, the context here is the occasional night of insomnia, not sleep disorders like sleep apnea, restless leg syndrome, etc.

Sinuses – When your sinuses are clogged, they can affect your sleep patterns in a number of ways. Mainly, clogged sinuses restrict airflow, preventing you from breathing easily and deeply while sleeping/trying to sleep. When the mucus membranes swell, the pathways for air turn into a maze. Air likes to take the path of least resistance. It doesn’t do so well over bends and angles. So simply put, that stuffy nose can keep you up at night.

Stress and anxiety – Worrying about the past or future events can easily get your mind running, and into full “alert mode”. For some people, a sleep routine is a very delicate thing. You need to have a clear mind, a certain position, a certain pillow, maybe a particular type of sound or music, etc. One minor change in life can cause insomnia, and wreck your entire sleep pattern for days, if not weeks at a time.

Blood pressure – Mainly caused by stress and/or anxiety, but high blood pressure can come from a number of things. Exercise, spicy foods, dehydration, etc. High blood pressure also makes you very alert, and not too sleepy.

Effects of Steam

A facial steamer can be very effective in fighting insomnia. You don’t need a long session either – 10-15 minutes can do the trick. Let’s dive in and see the ways Steam can positively effect your body and mind, and help you fall asleep.

Endorphins – What are endorphins and what causes them to be produced? Endorphins are a chemical produced by your brain. They are what’s known as the “feel good” chemical. It is a natural pain killer, and it’s effects are very similar to Morphine, only without the addiction part.

Have your ever taken drugs like Advil, Vicodin, Morphine, or Oxycontin and felt very relaxed and drowsy after? That’s because these drugs imitate endorphin in your body.

The heat from the steam stimulates the release of endorphins into your system, fighting off the stress in your body, and helping you get relaxed.

Circadian rhythm –  The Circadian rhythm is your body’s natural way of shutting down, and getting you ready for sleep. This rhythm is what is responsible for you feeling drowsy and sleepy at night. The Circadian rhythm is what prompts your body to release the hormone called Melatonin. Melatonin is basically your body’s natural form of a sleeping pill.

There are different factors that go into the science behind it, but two main ingredients are darkness and change in temperature. Your body is designed to sleep at night. And two of the ways that your brain recognizes night time are the change from sunlight to darkness, and the decrease in temperature that occurs from day to night.

If your bedroom is already dark, you’re halfway there. So let’s focus on the drop in temperature. If it’s already night time, the temperature is probably not going to drop significantly. Fortunately, we can fake it with your facial steamer. The steaming session increases your core temperature, specifically in your face/head – the area of your body that is most sensitive and receptive to an increase (or decrease) in temperature.

With the artificial increase in degrees, the steady decline back to your regular temperature naturally causes a release of melatonin.

Prolactin – Many studies have shown that saunas and different forms of steam therapy result in an increase of prolactin.

Prolactin is a protein primarily known for enabling milk production – it stimulates the mammary glands to produce milk. So what does breast-feeding have to do with all of this?

Both men and women produce this hormone. Prolactin is the main ingredient in sexual gratification. After you have sex, your body secretes prolactin, which is what causes you to become drowsy, and is also responsible for the refractory period after sex. A measure of how much you enjoyed the sex that you just had is from how much prolactin your body releases. To make a long story short, you were probably ready to sleep after the last time you had sex right?

Sinuses – The steam and resulting moist air help to clean out your clogged sinuses and air channels. Since you’re relaxed and hopefully ready to sleep, cleaning out your sinuses should keep you in that relaxed state of mind.

Tips and tricks

So you’re ready to give your facial steamer a try to help you get to sleep. Here are some things to keep in mind to stack the decks in your favor and make sure you fall asleep soon after:

If you are feeling stressed or anxious before getting into bed, don’t wait until insomnia sets in. Enjoy a steam session about 15-20 minutes before you go to sleep to get your mood just right.

Since this is more about sleep than cosmetic use, you should change up the routine a bit, and skip the face mask. Face masks take time to set, and remove. Besides costing you time, they also can be an irritant. Best to avoid face masks just before getting into bed. 

Give essential oils a try if you have them. Every essential oil has it’s own set of benefits and positive side-effects. Chamomile, lavender, and lemon grass are all especially known for their sleep-inducing properties. Have you ever seen or tried the Sleepytime tea from Celestial Seasonings? You guessed it – it contains all three herbs. So put a few drops of one, or a combination of the three into the water chamber of your facial steamer. Read this post if you need some essential oil tips.

You don’t need a long steam session here – 10-15 minutes should do the trick. While you can skip the facial mask, make sure to moisturize and splash your face with cold water to close your pores and avoid a breakout in the morning.

Conclusion

A steam facial positively affects the major reasons of sleep deprivation. For most of us, an episode of insomnia can last anywhere from 30 minutes to several hours. Investing about 20 minutes of your time into using a facial steamer is a much better alternative. And if it works, you’ll know what to turn to the next time you experience one of those dreadful sleepless nights.