During these stressful times, not only does stress affect our mood, behaviour and permeate throughout our everyday life in negative ways, it also impacts many organs and we often mention it as one of the main causes of the disease, so our largest organ is no exception. The effects of stress on the skin are reflected in the form of acne, redness, dryness, accelerated aging, unhealthy complexion.
The main culprit for these effects is cortisol, an inflammatory hormone that occurs in the body in response to stressful situations, excessive secretion may have serious consequences.
- Stress lowers the immune system and dehydrates the skin
- Cortisol destroys collagen, whose main role is to give elasticity and firmness to the skin. By destroying it, the skin loses its tone, begins to wrinkle and relax. In addition, when we are tense, it can be seen on our face: we are frowning, our wrinkles are wrinkled and our forehead is tense, which additionally contributes to the creation of lines on the skin.
- Under the influence of cortisol, the production of sebum increases, so the pores are more easily clogged and acne is created, or the existing blemishes get worse. To make matters even more complicated, there are more and more studies linking the microbiome of the intestinal tract – that is, the bacteria that live in our intestines – to a number of diseases, including skin conditions. Stress can upset the delicate balance of microorganisms that live in our digestive organs, which further means that there is an overgrowth of certain strains of bacteria that lead to various complications, including acne.
- Sleep deficiency is also reflected on the skin. Worries and problems, large and small cause stress to affect your sleep – family quarrels, intolerant colleagues or financial problems are enough to keep you rolling over in bed all night. One or two sleepless nights can usually be fixed with a nourishing mask or serum, but insomnia or poor quality sleep have more lasting effects on our skin. Some of the most obvious are more prominent lines, dark circles around the eyes, a gray, dull and tired complexion. Sleep is the time when the skin recovers and most effectively accepts the serums and creams that we apply to it, so everything that endangers those 8 hours of peace, has consequences for our appearance. It is virtually impossible to avoid stress – we all know that. However, it is possible, more realistic and necessary to make a plan on how to manage stress and reduce its consequences upon our skin and overall well-being.
It’s important to take a even a few minutes daily to take care of your skin. At minimum, proper cleansing, followed by moisturizing is essential.
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