Daylight Savings Time usually ends on the last weekend of October each year. At this time, we turn the clocks back an hour to take greater advantage of the daylight hours.
In 2007, it will be extended by four weeks, starting on the second Sunday of March and ending the first Sunday of November.
Although the time change only represents an hour shift, spokespeople from the National Road Safety Foundation (NRSF) suggest that it can take people up to two weeks to adjust to the time change, resulting in more drowsy drivers on the roads. It seems that even a change in sleep patterns of an hour can have significant impact.
Sleep, of course, is important for skin rejuvenation and your general health. It seems that even a slight change in sleeping patterns can have a significant effect on your energy levels, sense of well being, and on your skin’s repair and rejuvenation capabilities.
Be sure to pay attention to these signs of drowsiness:
*Trouble focusing
*Daydreaming or “zoning out”
*Yawning
*Tired, dry eyes
*Head snaps (you know, where your head drifts down and then you “snap” awake)
*Drifting out of your lane while driving
While you’re adjusting to the time change, be sure, also, to pay extra attention to pedestrians and children.
Adequate sleep is always the best prevention for drowsiness. Making sleep a priority will keep you healthy and your skin beautiful.
The dermatology literature reports various skin pH values as being ‘normal’. All reported skin pH values fall in the acidic range, but with a broad sweep of values ranging from pH 4.0 to pH 7.0.
Most recently, it has been found that the average pH of skin is about 4.7 (and always definitely less than pH 5.0).
Application of skin cleansers, including plain tap water, in some cases, shifts the pH of the skin from below 5.0 to 6.0 or 8.0. This has significant impact on the skin’s health and barrier function.
Skin which is routinely maintained at pH levels of 5.0 or below has better barrier function, greater moisturization, and better structure than skin which is routinely maintained at pH levels higher than this.
Also, at lower pH levels, skin necessary bacteria are more likely to remain in the skin. At higher pH levels, these bacteria are lost, decreasing the integrity of the skin.
Chemistry aside, why does this matter to you?
It matters for several reasons. One, because it suggests that you should also focus on keeping your skin slightly acidic, in order to keep your skin as healthy as possible. One way of doing this would be to include (and use) a [tag-ice]toner[/tag-ice] in your daily face-washing regimen.
Application of skin cleansers will take the skin’s pH levels up to 8.0 or higher. If you do not use a toner, the skin will remain at this level for some time after cleansing. This is undesirable, because it can lead to loss of barrier function and structural integrity.
Using a toner after cleansing returns the skin to its preferred acidic pH, which means better looking (and better behaving) skin for you.
If you don’t use toner each time you cleanse, start immediately. You will see a difference in the health and beauty of your skin.
Filed under General Skin Care Information by 
If you have been following the skin care research for any length of time, you’ve probably heard of antioxidants. As they sound, antioxidants are substances which prevent (or at least slow down) the damaging effects of reactive oxygen on the skin.
This reactive oxygen is one type of free radical. Free radicals are produced by normal human metabolism, and are increased in the presence of radiation, heavy metal exposure, smoking, and alcohol.
Left unchecked, free radicals damage the body’s proteins, DNA, and cell membranes. For the skin, they lead to aging and potentially skin cancers. Free radicals also have negative impact on the rest of the body, too, as they have been linked to heart damage, cancer, and a weakened immune system.
Eating a healthy diet, rich in fruits and vegetables is a natural way to build your antioxidant reserve. Antioxidants can be eaten (as in fruit, vegetables, or in supplements) and can also be applied to the skin (as in Vitamin E cream).
Some of the best known antioxidants are Vitamin E, Coenzyme Q10, lipoic acid, Vitamin C, glutathione, green-tea, and the soy isoflavones.
Each of these work differently to improve and protect the skin, but any diet should include these substances in order to be healthy, well balanced, and skin beneficial.
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