You know stress is bad for you. It causes high blood pressure and other health problems. However, did you know that it also causes problems for your skin health? Are you aware of how it can affect the look and feel of your skin?
Many people overlook the way stress affects the skin. They do not act to manage their daily stress levels until it is too late; often not even thinking that they are stressed!
You need to take the steps now to manage your stress. The good news is that this is relatively easy, if you are willing to put some effort in. These five ways are simple to follow and will give you better skin health in the future. There’s no time like the present to start.
How Does Stress Affect the Skin Health?
However, just how will your skin benefit. Do you want to know all about the problems, before you even think about making changes to your life, right?
Stress causes a mixture of harmful hormones to circulate your body. You get this imbalance, which affects various parts of your body. The imbalance will affect your immune system, causing more inflammatory reactions and making you more susceptible to illness.
In terms of your skin, you will find your natural oil production is affected. You can end up with too many oils or not enough being released. Most people find their skin is far oilier than before, but some will also find the opposite. It is hard to keep the moisture locked in. Either way, you are far more likely to suffer from acne breakouts, as there will be more bacteria in your body. You can also find you have more cystic acne, which is harsher, redder, and more apparent in your skin.
Some skin problems become worse like rosacea, psoriasis, and eczema. You may break out in hives or suffer from rash flare-ups. Some sexual health diseases can flare up, causing issues with your skin’s look and feel.
Because of the inflammatory response, you are more likely to see redness and swelling around your skin. Your pores can become blocked,and you may look puffy in some parts of the body. Some problems may not heal fully since the immune system cannot work as well.
The stress will affect your daily skincare routine. You will skip over steps, meaning your skin is not cleared as efficiently as usual. The leftover grime, oils, or bacteria can cause various breakouts and skin complaints.
It is up to you to manage your daily stress levels. When you do this, you will find it much easier to remove most skin conditions and issues. Are you ready for beautiful, glowing skin? Are you ready to improve your overall health? Here’s a look at five simple ways to do that.
Change Your Overall Mindset
Let’s first look at your mindset and how that can affect your overall health. One of the biggest issues with stress is that you start looking at life negatively. It is hard for the happy hormones to be released, so you cannot enjoy the things happening around you. People who are stressed are more likely to suffer from depression and anxiety.
The negativity is a dangerous cycle. The more down you feel, the more stressed you become. This then makes your depression and anxiety worse, which in turn makes your stress worse.
One of the best things you can do is change your overall mindset. Change the way you think and feel about things happening to you. This is something that will take time and effort to do. It can be easy to slip back into old ways, but as you start making positive changes, you will find them easier to continue.
Do not let yourself worry about things that you cannot change. You have no control over whether your dog gets ill or whether your boss has financial issues. All you can do is take steps to minimise the damage if they happen. Put systems in place, such as pet insurance, to help cover you financially should something happen to you in the future.
Once you have a few of these systems in place, you will feel a weight lifted off your shoulders. You are not constantly looking at the future and worrying about the things to come. You can enjoy your life right now, minimize the stress, and protect your skin health.
It is also worth finding the positives in everything that happens. Look for something good to come out of it, whether it is something that will save you money, improve your health, or help you spend more time with your children. There is always a silver lining behind the negatives that happen. No, this is not necessarily going to be easy at first. You do need to actively work on your mindset, especially if you are naturally a glass-half-empty type of person.
If you can control a situation, try to do so. There’s no point worrying about something that you can change or manage. You are adding more stress to yourself for absolutely no reason. While taking steps to change the situation, do not stress and second, guess yourself. Be confident,and that will shine through to your skin.
Get Some Exercise Daily
Your exercise levels will help you manage your daily stress. If you can get exercise on a regular basis, opt for it.You will also improve your overall health, and not just your skin health.
Exercise helps with the release of positive hormones. The happy hormones can overpower stress hormones in your body. You are left feeling relaxed and soothed, but ready for action. You have more energy to get through the day and will feel revitalized and more positive. You will be surprised at all the mental health benefits you gain from exercise.
If your stress hormones are hindered, you will find their effects on your skin are blocked too. The exercise will also help you sweat more, getting rid of toxins and leaving your skin looking healthier and brighter than ever before.
Let’s not also forget that exercise can help to soothe your worried. Many people share that they can run away their worries or work off their stress. They turn to exercise in times of anxiety to release the negative energies from the body, rather than letting them build up.
There are so many ways that you can add exercise to your daily routine. While experts recommend that you do 30 minutes of exercise a day (double that if you want to lose weight), you do not need to do it in one sitting. You can opt to break it up throughout the day. Surely that will ease your mind if you are stressing about how you are going to fit exercise in!
You can opt for 10 minutes in three to six stages throughout the day. A couple of minutes every hour or so is also going to benefit you. It is just about getting up and moving. Walking, desk workouts, a swim, and even yoga will help.
Adding more exercise will be easier when you change your mindset. Stop looking at why you cannot do something and look at how you are going to manage it instead.
Practice Stress Management Techniques
There’s no denying that stress management techniques are necessary. They will help to center and calm you, easing any negative energy you have in your body. There are also many ways that you can manage your stress.
One of the most popular options is through meditation. It is an ancient practice, involving deep breathing and mind focusing. Rather than focusing on your worries, you focus on your breathing and where you are. You can go to a happy place in your mind, helping the whole body relax while you step away from the stresses of the day.
Even just taking ten deep breaths when you do feel stressed will help if you cannot meditate. You bring more oxygen into your body, easing your muscles and improving the release of happy hormones through your body.
Another popular way to manage stress is through yoga. It involves exercise and centering techniques, offering you two steps in one go! You can find your mind floating away onto your worries, but yoga aims always to pull your mind back to your breathing, helping you to connect more with your body and the way it connects to the earth.
Find the best stress management technique for you. We are all different,and we all like to use something specific for our needs. Do not feel pulled into one method because your friends say it is good. If you are not feeling it, you will not get the same positivity that you would from a method that works with your personality and needs.
Get Time to Yourself Once a Day
Do something that you love doing once a day. Too many of us spend time looking after everyone else, except for ourselves. This is especially the case when we have children or aging parents to think about. We do not feel like we can put ourselves first at times, but this drives our stress levels up.
You do not have to spend much time on yourself. Just 10 minutes a day will help you focus on yourself and your wellbeing.
Moreover, you do not necessarily have to do anything energetic. Read a book that you love or listen to your favorite music without the interruption of others. Spend time playing a video game or enjoy a TV show that you have not watched in months because you “do not have the time.”
You could also use this time to work on your skincare routine. Not only are you helping to reduce your stress levels, but you are adding nourishment to your skin.You are helping your skin in two ways at the same time.
When you look after yourself, you will feel positive emotions flow. You get the happy hormones into your body, taking over the buildup of stress hormones within there. There’s this feeling of being able to overcome your worries because you are focusing on yourself and not what needs doing during the day.
Do not be tempted to do the things that you have left undone. Do not worry about the washing up or the bills. They are not going to hurt without you around for 10 minutes. Once you get this routine, you will soon wonder why you did not have it already.
Make Sure You Get Plenty of Sleep
Finally, it is all about rest. You need to make sure that you get plenty of sleep on a night. Yes, you hear this a lot when it comes to protecting your skin health, but it will help to manage your stress levels. The problem is stress and sleep are connected. If you have high-stress levels, you can find it hard to sleep. Therefore this tip is put at the end. If you do the above, you will find it easier to sleep.
When you sleep, you give your body a chance to recharge and reset. You can reduce the stress hormones in your body and increase your happy hormones instead. When you wake up, you will feel more refreshed and find it easier to tackle whatever you must face. Situations will not seem as bleak as they do when you are tired.
You will also find it easier to exercise and gain the de-stressing benefits from doing that. You are then making exercise easier to support your skin health.
Experts recommend that you get around eight hours of sleep a night. We are all different though. Some adults can manage for six hours, while others need nine hours. Find your magic number and try to get that sleep every night. Go to bed and wake up at the same time each night. Your body clock will thank you.
If you find it difficult to sleep because of stress, try meditating or breathing techniques. You need to figure out why you are stressed and take steps to lessen the feelings to help you sleep.
You Can Overcome Stress and Help Your Skin
Your whole body is connected. While stress is more known for affecting the mental and heart health, it can also affect your skin health. When you get your hormones in balance, you can change the way your skin glows daily.
The tips above will help you minimize your stress. One of the most important things to do is change your mindset. Make an effort to improve your feelings,and you will find it much easier to do.
