Sneaky Reasons Why Your Skin May Be Aging Faster

Our skin ages, but not as fast as we think. There are several factors that determine just how fast we age. Your genetics, skincare routine, overall health, and lifestyle have a huge influence on your skin.

Could you be doing things that accelerate skin aging? In today’s article, we’ll be talking about 6 sneaky reasons why your skin may be aging faster. Could it be from sleeping on one side daily? Can constant weight changes impact your skin health? What about smoking? We’ll be talking about all of these AND more…

Not Switching Sides In Bed

Getting the proper amount of sleep is one of the most important things you can do for your health. It’s important if you want to keep your skin at its best. When you’re fast asleep, your body starts repairing all tissues. This includes your skin.

While getting a good amount of sleep is important, you’ll also need to take care of the side you’re sleeping on. If you sleep on only one side of your body all the time, you’ll end up causing damage to that part of your face.

Sleeping on only one side of the face means you’ll be stopping blood circulation to that part. Also, the collagen will become deformed. Over a period of time, the wrinkles and creases on your skin may end up being permanent.

One thing you’ll definitely need to do is change the side you sleep on every night. The best solution, of course, is to sleep on your back. But if you’re unable to do that, then changing sides regularly can also help avoid damage to the skin.

Regardless of whether you sleep on your back or your side, a good night’s rest is absolutely necessary to maintain your skin health. There’s actually a process to getting better sleep.

You need to first establish a sleep schedule and stick to it no matter what. You should go to bed and wake up at the same time every day. Being consistent reinforces your body’s sleep-wake cycle. If you find it difficult to sleep within twenty minutes, try listening to some meditative music.

Next up, you need to pay attention to what you’re eating. Don’t go to bed hungry or stuffed. Avoid large heavy meals within a couple of hours of your bedtime. Alcohol, caffeine, and nicotine might keep you awake if you have them at night. They stimulate your brain, and the effect takes hours to go away. You might mistake alcohol for being sleep inductive. In reality, it disrupts your sleep later in the night.

Another way to make sure you get a good night’s sleep is to create a restful environment. Cool, dark, and quiet rooms are good for sleeping. Limit your screen time before you hit the bed. Exposure to screen light makes it difficult for you to fall asleep.

You’ll also need to limit your daytime naps. They can interfere with your nighttime sleep. If you absolutely need to nap during the day, limit the time to 30 minutes maximum. Exercising daily has a significant impact on your sleep. The right workout can help you sleep better. Just avoid exercising too close to bedtime.

Lastly, you need to take control of your worries. Being stress-free is very important if you want to get a good night’s sleep.

Fluctuating Weight

Dieting is one of the most popular fitness fads on the planet. People have been doing it forever. Most folks go on diets in order to drop some weight. Of course, watching what you eat is a great way to remove those extra pounds. But, the problem is when you don’t stick to it.

When you follow a strict diet, you do lose weight, but if you don’t follow through, it won’t take long to regain all the lost pounds. These constant weight changes are not good for the health of your skin.

Your skin loses its elasticity when your weight keeps shifting constantly. This is especially true as you get older. You’ll end up with stretch marks on your body while your face may start to sag and look older.

The best thing you can do to keep the elasticity of your skin is to maintain a healthy weight. Ideally, your body mass index should be below 25. Exercising on a regular basis can also help with your skin tone.

Regular workouts are always a better option than fad diets. Dieting can be harder to maintain over a longer duration. Workouts, on the other hand, get easier the longer you do them.

Maintaining A Poor Diet

If fad diets are one thing, maintaining an overall poor diet can also impact your skin’s health. You’ll need to be careful about the kind of foods you eat. If your diet includes a lot of sugary or processed food, you’ll end up triggering inflammation. That’s right, those daily trips to the drive-through each morning are ruining your skin.

Chronic inflammation can cause damage to your skin and lead to faster aging. This is because the glucose present in sugar and processed food causes collagen to degrade. It also affects the elasticity of your skin. The result is saggy skin and wrinkles. You’ll end up looking much older than you actually are.

What you can do is include fresh fruits in your diet. Kiwis, pineapples, and papayas are packed with antioxidants that can fight inflammation. Vegetables such as bell peppers and broccoli are also a great way to avoid inflammation.

If you use skin-care products, you should look for the ones with ingredients like vitamin C and E, along with resveratrol. They can ensure your skin doesn’t age quickly.

You’ll need to change your diet to make sure there are no processed foods. This includes snacks in between meals. Instead, organic products such as berries and citrus fruits are better options.

Taking Flights Regularly

Listen up, world travellers! Trotting the globe is fun, but not at the expense of your skin. If you’re one of those people who are always flying from one location to another, you don’t realize the consequences this has on your health. When you’re at a higher altitude, the sun’s ultraviolet rays are more intense.

This means your skin will burn far more easily when you’re on a plane, or even if you’ve climbed to the top of a mountain. Your skin also dehydrates faster at higher altitudes. This is because of the dry air circulating in the plane. 

So, frequent flyers have to deal with the double effects of dehydration, and higher exposure to UV rays. This is one of the reasons flight attendants have a higher chance of getting melanoma in their lifetime.

If it’s possible, try reducing the number of flights you take. Of course, your work situation may not give you that luxury. In this case, a moisturizer with a high SPF is your best option.

Also, frequent flyers should avoid drinking and eating salty foods. On top of that, drink a good amount of water while you’re on the plane. If you happen to be seated near the window, it would be best to pull the shade down to avoid the UV rays.

Depression

Depression is one of those conditions that are not always visible. Your friend may have it without you even realizing it. Depression affects both your mental and physical behaviour. People suffering from it will usually lose interest in physical activity. This, without a doubt, will affect your daily life. 

When you’re depressed, you usually end up putting stress on your facial muscles. This happens from all the frowning. If you have these facial expressions regularly, you could start developing wrinkles. The constant tensing of these muscles can form fine lines on the skin.

Also, when you’re depressed, your body has a higher amount of cortisol. A higher cortisol level can damage collagen, as well as the skin’s ability to repair itself. When you’re depressed, you also tend not to eat properly or get an adequate amount of sleep.  As a result, you end up not taking care of your skin.

If you want to improve your mood, start exercising more. It will make you feel happier and more energetic. 

But of course, counselling is the best way to deal with depression. Your doctor would advise you on taking antidepressants. This brings us to the next point.

Some Medications Cause Damage To The Skin

Almost all of us are on some type of medication. It’s just a thing you have to deal with in life. You may not like hearing this, but some medications may be damaging your skin. Medicines for asthma and arthritis are some examples. Corticosteroids can weaken collagen and reduce the elasticity of your skin.

These medicines can make your skin thinner. They also cause your blood vessels to rupture, which means you end up with broken capillaries.

Other medicines such as antibiotics and diuretics can end up causing photosensitivity. As the name suggests, using these medicines means your skin will get damaged from exposure to the sun.

Of course, you can’t simply stop using the medicines prescribed to you. That’s not an option, especially to stop your skin from aging. At the same time, you don’t have to suffer skin damage either.

What you can do is try avoiding the sun during the middle of the day. This is when its rays are the most intense. If you do step out during the daytime, you should always wear clothing that protects you from exposure. Sunscreen with SPF 30 or higher is an absolute must.

During the night, you can apply a retinoid cream. This helps stimulate the production of collagen. As a result, it’s now able to reduce the chances of your skin thinning from the medication.

 

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