I’ve been a model since I was 13 years old, so from an early age I’ve been aware of how my body looks and feels. As I grew older, the link of healthy eating, plenty of sleep and stress relief to looking and feeling my most beautiful became clearer and clearer.In 2008, I graduated as a Certified Health Counselor, and started counseling young models on ways they can incorporate a healthy lifestyle into their busy schedules. I also started a website and online magazine called Organice Your Life®, where myself and other top models give a glimpse into our world, and share tips on how to live a healthy, happy and organized life.“Organice” is a word I made up myself, and it comes from these words: Organic, Nice and Organized. These three words I feel are important in living a great life plus feeling and looking your best!At YouBeauty, I will explore the aspects of what I find are important in achieving health and happiness, and continue with my mission to help people find ways to look and feel like the best “you.”I’ll start with something so basic, but so incredibly important: sleep.MORE: How Much Sleep Do You Need? My favorite hobby is sleeping. Honestly. I love to lie in a soft bed and do absolutely nothing. During a long day of work, I very much look forward to the moment I step into my warm, comfy bed.I take the term “Beauty Sleep” quite seriously. I am now 30, and I do see that my skin probably looks older than when I started modeling. But I don’t have the harsh wrinkles I see that some of my same-aged friends have. Of course, what you eat and drink each day matters for the radiance of your skin, and if you smoke or party all night long it will take its toll. Stress is a really big factor, too, and exercising to bring nutrients to the skin for a glowing complexion is important.MORE: Sleep Affects Your Skin I can see right away by my skin if I am not totally taking care of my body. It becomes blotchy and I get pimples. The simple and cheap solution for me is to sit back and relax. I think the most important thing to do to achieve healthy skin is sleep. I probably sleep more than eight hours a night.I can hear some of you who have children, or are not as lucky to get eight hours of sleep a night say: “I wish I had time to do that!” And to those people I say: Try the power of a power nap! Since I was young and in school I would take short power naps of 15-20 minutes. Right after I came out of school, and went to my room to do homework, I would take a bit of time and lounge on the couch and doze off. After that, I felt revived and went straight to work. I think it is in my genes to do that. But it is something you can learn.To feel and look your best, your body needs to have enough time to rest. If you can’t make it those 8 hours (which happens to me quite often when I am working or flying somewhere) because you just don’t have the time, or your kids make it impossible, try a power nap. On the plane, in the car, whenever you can. I do them even at lunchtime at photo shoots. Anywhere you can find a few minutes to yourself, it really helps make you feel more energetic, and also help you to look like your most amazing “you.”MORE: Our Sleep Expert James Maas, Ph.D. Coined “The Power Nap!” Also what I recommend is taking that time to really relax and even meditate, and process what happened during the day before falling asleep. I do that each night or before a nap, and I just lie there thinking. It ensures I have a peaceful night of sleep.There is a lot you can do for your beauty that does not cost a thing, and one of them is taking time for your beauty sleep or a power nap. So, power to you!P.S. I took the YouBeauty Sleep Quiz, and it made me look at my sleep rhythm. I do frequently wake up in the middle of the night because I have to go to the bathroom (because I drink a lot of water). And my sleep length might be a bit long. But overall I scored “Good Sleeper” (Score of 5). Not only that: This page had a ton of information about sleep that either I did not know, or was a nice reminder. Take the quiz yourself and find out how you sleep!
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