Stress is a normal part of life, but it can have a negative impact on your health. The good news is that there are many things you can do to reduce stress and keep your skin healthy!
Stress accelerates skin aging in four ways.
Stress accelerates skin aging in four ways:
It increases production of the hormone cortisol, which damages skin cells and greatly increases inflammation in the skin. (Another sign is that stressed people tend to develop allergies to things they never used to be allergic to.)
Stress also causes our bodies to produce more adrenaline, which can break down collagen and elastin within our skin, causing wrinkles and sagging.
The stress-related increase in cortisol can cause you to lose sleep, which can make your complexion look duller and older than it should be at your age. (Notice how many wrinkles you have around your eyes?) But if you're not sleeping well because of stress or anxiety, this will only get worse as time goes on!
Lastly—and most importantly—stress makes us eat more sugar/salt/grease food than we need because we don't feel like cooking much when we're busy worrying about things we haven't done yet instead of enjoying life right now while it lasts...
The effect on the body
Stress causes the body to increase production of the hormone cortisol, which damages skin cells and greatly increases inflammation in the skin. (Another sign is that stressed people tend to develop allergies to things they never used to be allergic to.)
Cortisol is a hormone that’s released by your adrenal glands in response to stress. It tells your body it needs more energy, causing you to feel amped up and ready for action—but over time, if it stays elevated all day long or if you experience frequent spikes of intense stress—like feeling panicked about not getting enough sleep at night—you can get into trouble. In addition to damaging skin cells and increasing inflammation in your face and neck area (which makes everything look puffy), high levels of cortisol also cause problems with memory processing skills, making it harder for your brain to remember what happened last week let alone yesterday morning when (deep breath before you read this!) you woke up late and missed breakfast because there was no time in between working out at 6am then going straight into showering after work before rushing over here for dinner tonight because I promised my friend I would but now I’m so tired from all this running around that maybe I should just stay home instead…
The body also produces more free radicals when under stress, which damage collagen and elastin.
Free radicals are unstable atoms that can damage cells in the body. They occur naturally as part of the body's immune system, but are also produced by various environmental factors such as pollution and smoking.
When you're stressed out, your body produces more free radicals than usual. The excess of these unstable atoms damages collagen and elastin — two substances that provide strength to your skin. This causes wrinkles and sagging skin; it also makes you look older than your years!
To prevent this damage from occurring ensure you have plenty of antioxidants on a daily basis to protect you from the free radical damage. This can be oral and also topically. Orally, I love to take the Advanced Nutrition Programme Skin Antioxidant or The Beauty Chef's Antioxidant and of course my matcha daily and topically I love to use my Vitamin C Serum and my Nimue SPF 40 which is packed with antioxidants too.
Stress also causes people to make poor lifestyle choices
In addition to making you look tired and thin-skinned, stress can also make you look older. Stress causes people to make poor lifestyle choices, such as eating badly, smoking and becoming sedentary. All of these things add up to skin that isn't as healthy.
For example, if someone is stressed out their body will produce more cortisol which affects skin cells in ways that cause premature aging.
Cortisol sends signals to the brain telling it how much energy is available for other processes - this includes keeping our skin looking young and healthy. When cortisol levels are high it could mean that your skin cells are not receiving enough oxygen which results in damage caused by free radicals (these are unstable molecules that break down collagen).
Don't forget to take your Skinade Collagen daily to help prevent collagen breakdown in the body.
The physical signs of stress on your skin
Stress causes the body to produce more cortisol and free radicals, which can cause skin to become blotchy and uneven. Stress also increases oil production in the sebaceous glands of your skin, leading to breakouts of acne. The same stress hormones that make your face look puffy and swollen also cause inflammation in your skin when they seep into tissues around hair follicles or pores. And if you have an autoimmune disorder such as psoriasis or eczema, these conditions are likely to flare up during periods of high stress.
Some studies have shown that people who experience chronic stress may show early signs of aging on their faces compared with those who do not experience such stressors—so if you've noticed some new fine lines or wrinkles lately (or even worse), it's time to take action!
Reducing stress levels
There are many things you can do to reduce stress levels. Practicing yoga or meditation is one option, as is talking to a friend, getting some exercise and eating healthy foods.
Though it may take a few weeks for you to start seeing the results of these changes on your skin, there's no need to wait for them before feeling better about your overall health. Reducing stress levels will have a positive impact on your skin in as little as a few weeks; meanwhile, changes in diet and exercise take a little longer for the positive effects on your skin to show up.
Stress reduction is also important for both physical and mental health, so get started today!
I hope I've helped you to understand how quickly stress can age you. The good news is that there are plenty of ways to combat this, from cutting down on stress in your life and making positive lifestyle changes, such as exercising more regularly or eating well. We hope that this information helps you in your quest for healthy skin!
Thank you so much for reading,
Lots of love,
Emmaline x
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