If British ladies weren’t stressed enough this week with a prolonged winter cold spell and in the wake of the dreaded ‘Blue Monday’, new research from St. Tropez reveals that women look their oldest at 3.30pm on a Wednesday.
Using the culmination of scientific knowledge, targeted research and expert advice from skin care specialist Nichola Joss, St. Tropez can show how women’s stress levels, diet, sleep and exercise habits converge to make 3.30pm on Wednesday the time of the week that they look the oldest.
Providing further proof that stress can play havoc with your skin, the study revealed that more than one in ten women find Wednesday the most stressful day, with one in five admitting they are most likely to work through their Wednesday lunch hour. Worryingly, over a quarter of women feel stressed several times a week.
Reinforcing Wednesday as the day of reckoning, the study revealed two thirds of women said they experience a ‘slump in energy levels’ mid-afternoon on Wednesdays. Battling the afternoon slump with an snack can be detrimental for your skin, especially for the quarter of women who admit they resort to a sugary snack to combat this lack in afternoon energy.
Nichola Joss facialist and St. Tropez skin finishing expert says: “Studies show that stress accelerates the ageing process, that molecules in our body are responsive to our psyche. If women are stressed, and consume excess sugar it can show on their faces and in many cases, make them look older.”
With many women reporting high stress-levels, it’s not surprising that almost half of British ladies are most likely to indulge in a boozy treat at the weekends, another reason why women look their eldest mid-week. Nichola Joss explains: “Processing the toxins in alcohol and sugar can put strain on the body. Typically, it can take up to 72 hours for the visible effects of alcohol to show, so the effects of that Sunday night drink may not present themselves until Wednesday afternoon.”
The shock of going back to the working week was shown to give many women sleepless nights, as over a third reported Monday night as when they are most likely to get a bad night’s sleep. Nichola comments, “Lack of sleep on a Monday does not bode well for how the skin will look on Wednesday. The visible effects of a lack of sleep can take 48 hours to show on the face, so if many women sleep badly on Monday it’s no surprise they look their oldest on Wednesday.”
Further findings showed that the average British woman gets six hours and 43 minutes sleep a night. Nichola Joss comments: “For maximum anti-ageing benefits it’s essential that women get 7-8 hours’ sleep a night. Too little and your skin cells can’t rejuvenate, too much can result in puffy, older looking skin.”
Perhaps an effect of the mid-week slump, more than one in ten women will abandon their skin care regime on a Wednesday. Nichola Joss says: “Even if a woman doesn’t wear make-up, it’s essential to cleanse the face of build up from everyday pollution. Letting these build up clogs the skin making it duller and drier, and superficially older.”
A regular skin care regime is an important weapon against ageing. This stands the one in ten women who begin using anti-ageing products between 21 and 25, in good stead for the future. Not such good news for the average British women who start using anti-ageing products at 32. Despite using preventative anti-aging products, over a quarter admit to not always applying SPF and one in ten say they use sunbeds.
There is some good news! Perhaps an indication of how much fun Brits have at the weekend and the prospect of two days rest, 60 per cent of ladies named Friday as when they feel happiest. Partners looking for some week night nookie should know that Thursday is when ladies say they are most likely to have sex, so the combination of endorphins and a youthful rosy glow could well contribute to why women feel so happy on a Friday!
The survey was conducted by One Poll on a sample of British women in January 2013.
For more information on St Tropez visit www.st-tropez.com