8 modern lifestyle stressors that may be damaging your skin
Everyday issues that are affecting your skin health
What do gen Zs, millennials, and gen Xs have in common? A life that isn’t void of stress! It’s the sad truth –– in today’s day and age, stress is unavoidable, no matter how much you try. From personal to professional to financial, name it all and there are multiple dark clouds looming over our heads. And when they do burst, it results in severe health issues, including ones that show up on your skin. Lifestyle stressors are probably one of the most common swords that hang above us, just waiting to drop down and attack. Did you know that your skin and your mind have a deeper connection that you can even imagine? Here are 8 modern day lifestyle stressors that are bringing your skin down, and how you can fix them in order to prevent it from damaging your skin further.
#1 - Pollution
One of the most damaging stressors one can face in recent times is pollution. The rise in air pollutants has proven to damage the outer barrier of the skin, triggering all sorts of skin issues like pigmentation, dark spots, oxidative stress, etc. Think of your skin being naturally protected by an invisible shield –– its sole purpose is to lock in the good and keep out the bad. Now, when exposed to air pollution repeatedly, this shield tends to crack away, allowing the pollutants to enter your body and damage it. This results in premature ageing, atopic dermatitis, and even certain cancers.
Solution: Vitamin C
It’s important to include a good vitamin C serum in your routine. Vitamin C is loaded with antioxidants and helps fight oxidative stress too. It helps strengthen your skin’s natural barrier, preventing pollutants from damaging the skin even further.
Consuming vitamin C on a daily basis also helps fight oxidative stress from within. Oranges, strawberries, spinach, and broccoli are rich in vitamin C and are great foods to add to your daily diet. You can even consider supplements that contain vitamin C in order to help boost skin health from within.
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#2 - Overexposure To The Sun
Let’s face it #FunInTheSun isn’t all that rosy when it can lead to bad skin. While vitamin D from sun exposure is great for your skin and bones, overexposure to UV rays without protection can be rather detrimental (and even life threatening) for your skin. Tanning is a way for your body to defend itself from UV rays –– too much of it and it penetrates through your skin, causing skin cells to get damaged, die, and can even lead to cancer.
Solution: Sunscreen
This cannot be stressed enough, sunscreen is important. Very very important. Always make sure you slather up in sunscreen before exposing yourself to the sun. Always top up after every two hours of exposure.
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#3 - Lack Of Sleep
This is something we as a generation are guilty of doing and it has severe effects on our mind and our skin. It is imperative that the body gets 8 hours of sleep every night. When you don’t sleep well and don’t get enough snooze time, your body produces more cortisol. An increase in cortisol results in inflammation which hinder protein production –– the same protein that is required to keep your skin healthy and glowing. This causes sensitivity, dark circles, and can even lead to acne and breakouts.
Solution: Time management
Make sure you divide your time properly to ensure that you are sleeping at the right hour everyday. Research shows that the correct time to hit the sack is 10pm and consistency is key. Make sure you sleep and wake up at the same time everyday to ensure that your circadian rhythm aka internal clock is on schedule.
#4 - Work Stress
Unfortunately, work and stress often go hand in hand. It’s about how you manage that stress and prevent it from taking over your life. Stress in general has a major impact on your skin –– it’s a vicious cycle –– stress leads to skin problems and skin problems then lead to stress. This is because stress can damage the production of proteins in your skin, causing a depletion in elasticity. The result? Premature wrinkles and fine lines. Stress can also trigger acne and breakouts!
Solution: Exercise
While this may sound cliche, one of the best ways to combat work stress is to channel that energy elsewhere. Yoga, meditation, running, exercise, are the few ways in which you can help destress your mind and prevent work from interfering with your skin’s health too. Maintain a work-life balance by scheduling yourself –– no stress during non-work hours –– your ‘me’ time is as important as your work, so strike that balance.
#5 - Caffeine & Alcohol
A cup of joe in the morning is a ritual almost all of us are guilty of glorifying and alcohol is its fun counterpart! Both alcohol and caffeine are responsible for dehydration, which results in dry and dull looking skin. If you’re one to add milk to your coffee, it’s imperative to know that milk and dairy in general impairs sebum production and causes your dead skin cells to stick. This can lead to breakouts and dullness.
Alcohol tends to dilate your pores, resulting in blackheads and whiteheads. Since it is dehydrating, it strips your skin off its natural moisture and nutrients from within, which leaves you with wrinkles, sagging skin, and fine lines.
Solution: Switch to fresh juices
Adding freshly squeezed juices to your diet and replacing caffeine and alcohol with them is the best way forward. A blend of fruits and veggies will give your skin the hydration it requires to remain soft and supple, and intensely moisturised from within.
#6 - Poor Diet
Ordering too much takeout? You’re bound to see the impact on your skin. Fast food, foods high in salt and sugar, processed food, are all enemies to your body and skin. While it does taste amazing at that moment, it is important to note that a poor diet comprising all things unhealthy doesn’t just damage your body, but also impacts your skin. It can result in acne, irritation, inflammation, and redness, to name a few. Foods like sugar breakdown collagen and elastin levels in your skin, which leaves you with a saggy mess to clean up after.
Solution: Nutrient heavy foods
Since your body is exposed to so many environmental and lifestyle stressors, it is important to consume antioxidant and nutrient heavy foods to combat it. This includes blueberries, strawberries, red cabbage, beetroot, and spinach.
#7 - Emotional Stress
Anxiety, anger, depression, and low self-esteem are one of the most common emotional stressors that a lot of people tend to face. This kind of stress oftens triggers skin issues like acne, atopic dermatitis, psoriasis, and rosacea. Stress like anxiety often causes patients to experience itching and hives, which often leaves skin inflamed and irritated. As mentioned, stress damages the protein production of your skin resulting in lesser collagen and elastin. This triggers early signs of ageing like wrinkles or sagging skin.
Solution: Manage your environment
Try to notice your trigger points and keep them in check. Make sure you are getting at least 8 hours of sleep, so that your skin is able to rest and recover. Keep away from anything that sends you spiralling and this includes social media. Talk to a psychodermatologist if you feel like your state of mind might be impacting your skin’s health.
#8 - Technology
In today’s day and age, technology plays a huge part in our daily function. No matter what the situation, the machines are always there to help us. However, they seem to be taking over our lives now! Starting off with social media –– it sets unrealistic beauty that often seems too good to be true. And more often than not, it is. This is an emotional trigger for those who don’t feel like they meet those standards and this stress can have a negative impact on your skin’s health.
Secondly, the constant screen time isn’t healthy. Not only are the rays from your devices slowly damaging your skin, but can also disrupt your sleep. Lack of sleep results in more cortisol which leads to a myriad of skin issues.
Solution: Keep the devices at bay
Technology isn't the enemy, your inability to control it is! To avoid this from damaging your mental and physical health, make sure to allot screen time and stick to it. Do not scroll through social media before heading to bed. Follow pages and people who make you happy and not ones that make you question your life in a negative way.
