Your skin is the largest organ of your body and responsible for maintaining temperature and fighting off viruses. This is a lot of stress to place on a single organ, but your skin takes this in stride. Chronic levels of stress can lead to skin problems like inflammation, itching and compromised immunity. Even if you don’t realize that you are being exposed to stress, your skin reacts to hormonal changes caused by stress. One of the best ways to decrease your body’s reaction to stress is to exercise regularly. Working out has several positive benefits and this includes making your skin look and feel better.
Chronic stress causes your body to over-produce the hormone cortisol. Over time, chronically high levels of these hormones can cause problems like an increase of oil production from the follicles of your skin. This can clog pores when combined with dead skin cells and causes break outs and skin inflammation. Exercise naturally decreases levels of stress hormones, both during and after the actual workout. Inflamed skin and other skin conditions caused by chronically high stress hormone levels can also deplete your body’s ability to drive off infections and illnesses. As a result, you become more susceptible to getting sick and even minor imperfections in your skin may take longer than normal to heal.
Exercise isn’t solely beneficial when trying to lose or maintain your weight; it can also improve your skin’s appearance. When combined with a healthy diet and drinking plenty of water, exercise can not only improve your mood and reduce your risk of chronic illness, but it also encourages you to sweat. Sweating is very beneficial because it forces waste products out and away from your body.
Call our office to make an appointment and learn more about the effects of stress on your skin.
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