Stress. It is one of the biggest challenges many of us face in life. You may be stressed out at work. You may be stressed out due to family matters. You may be stressed out because of something that happened with your friends. However stress makes its way into your life it can be something that we all could use less of and it certainly doesn't help keep your skin looking glowing and youthful.
In fact, regardless of how good your skincare routine is, stress can put a real weight on the health of your skin. You may not even realize it, but when you are stressed out, your mind is certainly affected by the trouble you are having, but so too is your body and in particular your skin. It is a shame when you put so much work into keeping your skin healthy that the stresses of every day life can put such a strain on it, but it is true.
It is important to know how stress affects your skin, but it's also important to note how you can reduce your stress levels. The perfect stress reliever is something you'll need to identify for yourself, on your own, and put into practice, but there are certainly some tried and true stress management techniques. For instance, you can go for a walk regularly. If you can do this outside, even better. A brisk walk will get your oxygen flowing and will help you get away from the stresses of the day to clear your head. You may want to spend some time meditating which can go a long way to clearing the stress out of your life. You may want to turn to a change in your diet to impact your stress levels. There are quite a few things you can do to reduce your stress levels which will make a big impact on your overall health.
By taking some stress reducing steps you may be putting yourself in a much better position to avoid the negative impacts that stress has on both your mental and physical health. It is widely known that the mental health implications of stress are far reaching and can cause significant damage to your well-being. The physical impacts of stress are less widely known. One of the largest areas of your body that may be affected by high stress levels is your skin. Your skin can experience significant damage if your stress levels are too high. Some of the things that you may start noticing in your skin include;
1.) Increased oil production. When you are stressed out your skin notices and starts to produce more oil which can clog pores and lead to acne breakouts.
2.) Aggravate skin conditions. If you already have a skin condition like eczema or psoriasis, stress can be a factor in aggravating these conditions. This can make them harder to deal with as you try to take steps to improve these conditions.
3.) Accelerate aging. For many, this is the big one. Stress can speed up the aging process as it affects your skins ability to stay healthy by breaking down collagen and elastin. These two proteins are what give your skin its structure and elasticity and without them you may start to see more and more signs of premature aging.
There is no doubt that stress is bad for your physical and mental health. It can go a long way in causing damage to your skin that can be long lasting. Even the best skincare routine may not be able to combat the impact that stress has on your skin. In order to take matters into your own hands you will want to take some of the steps detailed above to reduce your stress levels so you can protect your mental and physical health for years to come.
